A New Chapter for Ethereum: Foundation's New Leadership Responds to "Selling Tokens" Incident, Explains Three Core Strategies
TechFlow Selected TechFlow Selected
A New Chapter for Ethereum: Foundation's New Leadership Responds to "Selling Tokens" Incident, Explains Three Core Strategies
Clearly defined the technical roadmap from Pectra to Fusaka (expected in fall), and then to next year's Amsterdam upgrade.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Bankless
Translation: Baicai Blockchain
On May 7, Ethereum completed the Pectra network upgrade, ushering in a new chapter for ecosystem development. Seizing this opportunity, Tamas Stanczak and Shay Wong, the newly appointed co-executive directors of the Ethereum Foundation, sat down with Bankless to discuss their vision and determination to drive change.
In the past, the community has frequently criticized the Ethereum Foundation for its execution speed, communication style, and ongoing ETH sales. In this interview, they addressed each concern directly:
-
Provided clear explanations regarding community questions about the necessity of "selling ETH."
-
Detailed the three strategic priorities: “scaling L1, scaling blobs, improving user experience.”
-
Clarified the technical roadmap from Pectra to Fusaka (expected in autumn), then to next year’s Amsterdam upgrade.
-
Announced plans to increase hard fork frequency to a 6-month cycle, and set long-term scalability goals such as a 100x expansion within four years.
Below are selected excerpts from the interview, translated by Baicai Blockchain:
Q1: Please introduce your background and how you came to take on this role at the Ethereum Foundation?
Shay Wong: My background is in computer science. I joined the foundation in 2017 as a core protocol researcher working on the first proof-of-concept (PoC) version of sharding. Since then, I've been closely involved with Ethereum protocol work—initially under what was known as the consensus protocol. With the emergence of the Beacon Chain, my focus shifted further toward the consensus layer of Ethereum, contributing to the transition to proof-of-stake (i.e., the Merge). My role was somewhat like a co-lead of the Foundation's consensus R&D team, primarily responsible for consensus layer specifications and acting as a bridge between research and client teams (CL).
Prior to joining the leadership team, I found the role of a Foundation researcher uniquely special—not just about researching features, but also caring deeply about how these features impact users. Last December, I joined the leadership team. This experience helped prepare me to serve alongside Tomasz as co-executive director.
Tomasz Stanczak: I first encountered Ethereum around late 2015 or early 2016 at a small meetup in London while working in traditional finance. In August 2017, I founded Nethermind, a core development infrastructure company. I started by reading the Yellow Paper—believing the best way to learn was to implement it—so I began coding in C#, gradually diving deeper into infrastructure.
I envisioned that Ethereum would eventually need professional tools, akin to a “data market.” Joining Flashbots in 2020 to work on MEV solutions greatly accelerated my journey. At the time, I was also developing the Oiler project, aiming to build a blockspace gas trading solution. Nethermind grew to about 300 people and introduced roughly 600 individuals into the ecosystem through internship programs. A few months ago, I advised Aya on leadership direction. In February this year, I reconnected and ultimately decided to join. I believe Ethereum needs help and strong leadership.
Q2: What exactly does this co-executive director role entail, and what is your vision?
Shay Wong: As executive directors of the Ethereum Foundation, we must think long-term because we’re a nonprofit. Our mission is to act as stewards of the ecosystem—stepping up when most needed, focusing on key areas, and empowering other participants. We need to establish principles for ourselves that don’t shift frequently, while also building strength and resilience so we can flexibly focus on dynamic issues we face daily.
Tomasz Stanczak: I bring experience and energy from building organizations and working within ecosystems. Over the past four years, I’ve lived a nomadic lifestyle, meeting many builders. My goal is to help improve the Foundation’s internal structure and accelerate processes. There are about 40 leads managing small teams inside the Foundation—we need to give them space and help them realize they are the true leaders of EF.
There are small internal changes that can make a big difference, and many talented people capable of extensive communication. That’s almost the first thing I started addressing even before officially beginning. Drawing from my client-building experience, I can examine challenges from a technical perspective. Over the past few weeks, I’ve opened up my calendar to collect feedback. We want the Foundation to communicate more proactively, not shy away from difficult topics—even if it sometimes feels uncomfortable.
Q3: Aya Miyaguchi's era was defined as “subtraction for gains.” How would you define this new chapter under your leadership? What legacy do you hope to leave?
Tomasz Stanczak: I see my role as an executor rather than a visionary—one who operates within the vision Shay and I have jointly set, aiming to deliver dynamic, short-term changes over the next one to two years. It’s like planting a garden—you now need to prune and organize everything growing there. I hope Ethereum will be seen as the globally neutral layer for global economic activity and transactions.
This victory comes through influence—advancing values we truly care about: privacy, security, open-source access, and censorship resistance in protocols. These matter to us. If the protocol lacks influence—if it doesn’t integrate into all future economic, governance, and AI processes—we cannot achieve these values. The success of L1 will empower L2s to collectively spread Ethereum’s values. In the future, everything should run on Ethereum just as it runs on the internet today.
Shay Wong: I tell myself to “lead with clarity, act with purpose, and build without attachment.” This is about the world we want to live in, not just personal achievements. Ethereum should be more than just a product—it’s about culture, about the kind of world we want to inhabit. I hope Ethereum becomes the most decentralized, permissionless, and open blockchain in the world. To get there, we need to grow in certain ways—but growth and principles must go hand-in-hand. We need to balance principle with resilient growth.
Q4: The community widely acknowledges that the Ethereum Foundation excels in research, values, and client diversity, but falls short in execution speed, communication (e.g., roadmaps), and connection with real-world users (like DeFi users). How do you view this feedback?
Tomasz Stanczak: All the complaints people raise are very real. Over the past two months, I’ve had roughly 200 conversations and heard similar feedback repeatedly. We need a clear North Star, and we need to move faster. We must optimize how we onboard developers, engage with DeFi builders, clarify our roadmap (such as L1/L2 relationships, the future of staking), improve communication, and shed the “ivory tower” image.
We can’t get stuck in endless research—we must adapt to market changes. Many people are eager to help; some say, “I’ve been dormant for the past three to four years, but I’m ready to come back and contribute.” Even people within the Ethereum Foundation are extremely impatient for change—they want to be part of it themselves.
Q5: Can these issues—slow pace, poor communication, disconnection from reality—be fixed?
Tomasz Stanczak: Absolutely. Many problems can be solved with small communication adjustments and process optimizations. The key is activating decision-makers both within the community and internally—empowering them to accelerate, not wait.
We need to involve application developers earlier in the planning phase. We should actively seek out those most likely to oppose a feature and hear their input from the start—then consider how to build something so compelling and beneficial that even opponents are overwhelmed by broader community support. A product-centric mindset is central to solving these issues.
Q6: You mentioned “product-centric Ethereum.” Does this mean placing greater emphasis on practical applications and user needs?
Tomasz Stanczak: A product-centric mindset is foundational to achieving our three goals: scaling L1, scaling blobs, and improving UX. It means constantly asking: Why are we making this change? Who is it for? And involving users in co-design. At the same time, we must uphold core values and quality standards.
For example, whether considering EOF or L1 scaling, ask: How does this affect decentralization? Which users are impacted? What do they think? We need to restructure ACD meetings to include product discussions. Developer experience (DevX) is part of user experience too. We must provide builders with clear roadmaps and support. For instance, what happens after a hackathon? What happens next Monday morning? Will they start building on Ethereum? Do they feel Ethereum is a product that gives them answers, clear guidance on how to build, which technology to choose, who can help, and how to get funding?
Q7: Regarding metrics for measuring success, do you have specific ideas?
Tomasz Stanczak: Not all metrics are finalized yet. We need to cascade goals down to teams and create internal dashboards. For L1 scaling, we have preliminary targets: 3x this year, 10x total by next year. Dankrad has proposed an exponential roadmap aiming for 100x within four years.
The process involves: first reviewing all clients, then making changes to the execution and consensus layers via EIPs, and finally accelerating primarily through ZK technology over the next three to four years. This 100x goal will serve as an anchor for organizing our research and development. We’ll go to every research team and ask: How does your work serve this 100x goal? Is it targeting year one, two, three, or four?
Q8: Sometimes the community has unrealistic expectations of the Ethereum Foundation. What are some things the Foundation actually does not do or that fall outside its scope?
Shay Wong: One controversial point is selling ETH. The community expects us to hold, but we must sell in order to operate and fund activities. Second, for the most critical tasks that only EF can do, we’ll take direct responsibility and allocate internal resources. But for other areas—such as certain business development efforts—we prefer to support via grants. EF’s role is more that of a coordinator, helping people find the right resources within the ecosystem.
Tomasz Stanczak: The Ethereum Foundation should step in when the ecosystem lacks something, but typically to help the right organization emerge and grow. We don’t play the role of coordinator or owner. For example, communications with Wall Street or governments—EF certainly doesn’t want to coordinate those, but we aim to answer questions and offer expertise instead of avoiding interaction as we may have done in the past. We are not owners of the Ethereum protocol, nor do we act as such.
On engineering, we have the Geth team, which is important for research, but we don’t build consensus clients. We avoid building applications or infrastructure directly because the ecosystem can do it better. In business development, we aim to play a more active “helper” role: connecting apps, clients, talent, and research. The Foundation is often the first contact point for many participants. Rather than offering funding every time, we’d prefer to actively help founders solve specific early-stage challenges. A big part of Ethereum is about creating networks—and building social-layer connections is something the Foundation can excel at. In marketing, we focus on communication and clarity, not advertising.
Q9: Regarding the specific roadmap and cadence, what is the plan for upcoming hard forks?
Tomasz Stanczak: We plan to accelerate the hard fork cadence to approximately every six months. The next one is Pectra, which includes not only staking-related Max Effective Balance changes but also major improvements in account abstraction and user experience via mechanisms similar to EIP-3074 (SFS 102). We are currently focused on rigorous testing to ensure safety.
Immediately after Pectra deployment, we will launch the devnet for the next hard fork, Fusaka, aiming for release in September or October this year—with a strong emphasis on avoiding delays. A large gathering of core developers and researchers will also be held to accelerate progress.
The subsequent hard fork is Amsterdam, planned for completion by the end of next year, which will include accelerated L1 scaling. Some L1 scaling work has already begun—some components don’t require hard forks, while others will need EIPs. Meanwhile, the Ecosystem Development department, led by Jane Smith, is restructuring processes to better serve builders’ needs in tokenization, RWA, and related areas. ACD meetings are also being adjusted to accommodate faster delivery timelines and involve application developers earlier in the process.
Join TechFlow official community to stay tuned
Telegram:https://t.me/TechFlowDaily
X (Twitter):https://x.com/TechFlowPost
X (Twitter) EN:https://x.com/BlockFlow_News
Bankless
