Ethereum Foundation Exodus Continues as Co-Director Hsiao-Wei Wang Departs

Hsiao-Wei Wang, co-director of the Ethereum Foundation, resigns her position with immediate effect, according to a message on social mediamarking the latest high-profile departure of Ethereum leadership.

Wang’s announcement follows her sabbatical and the February departure of her fellow co-director, Tomasz Stańczak. After Stanczak’s departure, Bastian Aue was appointed interim co-director alongside Wang.

“During my hiatus, Bastian guided the transition with care and thoughtfulness, and I appreciate the work he and many others put into that process,” said Wang. “Over time, I have come to feel that this is the right time for me to take a step back.”

Wang’s departure comes just a month after Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin indicated that the Foundation would go into transition in a ‘smaller ship’, creating a leaner team with a narrower, dedicated focus on censorship resistance, privacy and security.

But even before Buterin’s message, the Foundation had suffered a handful of notable exits, including top researcher Dankrad FeistStanczak, and at least two veteran members of the organization.

When the organization’s leadership split, it fueled skepticism about the Foundation’s ability to advance the Ethereum ecosystem.

Feist reinforced these concerns shortly before Buterin’s mandate in May, suggesting that a new organization should be created with at least $1 billion in ETH funding to “save Ethereum.”

“The community must create an organization that is economically connected to Ethereum and accountable to it,” he posted on Xadding that it “needs a leader who is competent and wants to fight.”

Tension and uncertainty have surrounded the organization for years, with Buterin noting the Foundation’s involvement the process of making “big changes” dating back to early 2025, in an effort to improve ties with ecosystem builders and active participants. Attempts at large-scale changes continued into 2026 he admitted that Ethereum needed to make “new plans.” as it relates to layer 2 networks.

Long reprimanded for selling Ethereum, the EF recently implemented a more transparent treasury policy, detailing when it would like to sell ETH. “Achieving an acceptable return on government bonds.” It began staking the treasury earlier this year with the ultimate goal of staking around 70,000 ETH, or about $119 million worth at current ETH prices.

ETH, the foundation’s main asset, is down about 1.4% over the past 24 hours and recently changed hands to $1,708. At that point, the stock is now down nearly 66% from its all-time high of $4,946 less than a year ago in August 2025.

A representative for the Ethereum Foundation did not immediately respond Declutter‘s request for comment.