Josh Stark announced his departure from the Ethereum Foundation
Josh Stark, a key researcher and project manager at the Ethereum Foundation, said on Thursday that he will leave the nonprofit organization that leads the development of the Ethereum ecosystem after five years.
Stark did not give a specific reason for his departure and said in a post on X that he has “no plans for the future.” Instead, he takes some time to focus on family and friends. And so he said.
“The Ethereum ecosystem has safely accomplished the impossible. It's easy to forget how real the fear and doubt was that Ethereum would never launch, that DeFi would never work, or that Proof of Stake would never be sent.”
He is one of four people listed as “management” on the organizational chart, to which nearly all of the foundation's employees report.
Stark's departure from the Ethereum Foundation represents a very high-profile move from the organization. A day before Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin announced leadership changes and a new direction for the foundation in 2025, another foundation contributor, Trent Van Eps, announced his resignation last week.
Related: Ethereum Foundation Closes to Reaching Goal of 70,000 Paid ETH
The Ethereum Foundation In 2025 he got a shake
In the year In January 2025, co-founder Vitalik Buterin announced major changes to the Ethereum Foundation in response to criticism from the Ethereum community regarding the long-term direction of the ecosystem.
Bringing in “fresh” talent to the organization, greater decentralization, and improving the protocol for faster transaction transactions and increasing transaction speed, Buterin said, are among the goals outlined in the changes.
However, the updated Ethereum Foundation does not engage in ideological disputes, does not represent US lawmakers in Washington, or “represent vested interests,” Buterin added.
“These things are not what EF does, and that will not change. People who want a different vision are welcome to start their own originals,” he said.

The Ethereum Foundation officially announced new leadership in March 2025, adding Ethereum Foundation researcher Hsiao-Wei Wang and Nethermind CEO Thomas Stanchak, an Ethereum implementation client, as co-directors of the organization.
In the year
Magazine: Back to Ethereum: How Synthetics, Ronin, and Cello Saw the Light



