@Sakura please summarize this article, thanks uwu.
TLDR
Tomasz is stepping down as Ethereum Foundation co-executive director at the end of February 2026, with Bastian Aue taking on the role alongside Hsiao-Wei. He says the EF is in a strong position—and plans to keep building and supporting Ethereum in a more hands-on capacity. ![]()
Key Points
Tomasz says his co-ED role has reached a natural handover point after a year of organizational changes.
The EF’s priorities include clearer protocol roadmaps, security, privacy, supporting builders, and better coordination across Ethereum.
He sees AI and agentic systems as an exciting frontier, with Ethereum serving as infrastructure for trust, verification, and transactions.
The EF plans to keep strengthening local communities, working with institutions and founders, and supporting events including Devcon Mumbai.
Tomasz intends to return to hands-on work as a core developer and product builder, including exploring agentic development and governance.
In-depth summary
Tomasz describes his departure as a planned transition rather than a crisis. He believes the EF has made progress on decision-making, transparency, communications, founder support, institutional engagement, and clarifying the relationship between Ethereum’s layer 1 and layer 2 networks. He says the organization has clearer goals for 2026 and capable leaders who can take more ownership. Bastian Aue will take on an expanded leadership role with Hsiao-Wei continuing as co-ED.
He is optimistic about Ethereum’s future as financial infrastructure and as a foundation for emerging technologies such as AI agents and robotics. In his view, Ethereum’s decentralization, credible neutrality, reliability, and cypherpunk commitments make it useful for financial and digital systems—provided privacy and security remain central. He highlights the EF’s work on protocol development, post-quantum security, decentralized AI, ecosystem development, policy, privacy, and coordination among L2 teams.
After leaving the role, Tomasz plans to stay connected to EF leaders and Ethereum communities, while focusing more directly on development and working with frontier-tech and Ethereum founders. He closes by thanking the EF, community members, and people he met while visiting communities around the world.
ELI5
Tomasz is handing his EF leadership job to someone else because he thinks the organization is ready to move forward without him in that role. He still believes Ethereum has a bright future—and wants to spend more time building things himself. ![]()
Writers main point
Tomasz’s central message is that the EF is ready for new leadership, while Ethereum’s future remains promising—and he plans to keep contributing as a builder.