The Ethereum Foundation recently revealed a restructuring of its internal framework, which includes renaming its research and development division.
A strategic restructuring of the core development team was outlined in a release by the Ethereum Foundation on June 2. The reorganization aims to enhance focus, foster stronger collaboration, and accelerate advancements toward Ethereum’s goals for scalability and user experience.
A central part of the reorganization involves the dismissal of multiple employees and the renaming of the Protocol Research & Development (PR&D) division to simply ‘Protocol.’ The newly structured team will concentrate on three main objectives: enhancing Layer 1 scalability, advancing user experience, and increasing blobspace capacity.
This means some members of PR&D won’t be continuing with the Ethereum Foundation,” stated the release, adding that “We must rethink our current approach to designing, developing and stewarding the protocol. This process of “shipping protocol” is messy, asking us to respond proactively to demands that are hard to articulate and even harder to fulfill.
The announcement follows closely after Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin confirmed at ETHGlobal Prague that a tenfold increase in Layer 1 scalability is anticipated within the next year. It also aligns with his January 2025 comments regarding upcoming transformations in the leadership structure of the Ethereum ecosystem.
The restructuring is also being driven by increasing calls across the industry to enhance the ecosystem, aiming to resolve operational inconsistencies and respond to emerging security issues.
Ethereum Faces Security Concerns Over Pectra Upgrade
Earlier this year, the Ethereum Improvement Proposal EIP-7702 revealed vulnerabilities that were actively exploited by malicious actors, highlighting the urgent necessity for a more targeted and refined strategy in protocol development.
EIP-7702, which was initially designed to improve wallet functionality by enabling regular Ethereum accounts to act temporarily like smart contracts, has unintentionally created new vulnerabilities. A surge of wallet-draining attacks has been flagged by on-chain analysts and cybersecurity firms, who attribute the exploit to the recently introduced delegation feature—prompting critical concerns about the safety of the latest protocol modifications.
The Ethereum Foundation’s recent restructuring appears to be strategically timed to tackle internal inefficiencies and reinforce trust in the long-term direction of its protocol development agenda.
