Ethereum Foundation is losing another two of its core contributors. On May 18, researchers Carl Beek and Julian Ma both announced their departures from the organisation — voluntarily, and each with a farewell post on X.

Beek spent seven years at EF, contributing to the creation of the Ethereum Beacon Chain and working on network throughput and execution layer improvements. He will leave at the end of May. "The strength of Ethereum lies in the people behind it," he wrote in his goodbye message, adding that his next steps remain uncertain.

Julian Ma spent four years in EF's research and product division, where he worked on network economics and scaling design. He is a co-author of the FOCIL privacy enhancement proposal and led the launch of a fast confirmation mechanism that cut transaction settlement times between L1 and L2 by 98%. Ma explained his departure as a natural career shift: having spent his final year focused on product and growth, he wants to pursue that direction more fully going forward.

Their exits extend what has become a prolonged wave of departures from the foundation. In early May, lead developers Barnabé Monnot and Tim Beiko left the Protocol team, while Alex Stokes took a sabbatical — with interim managers stepping in to cover their roles. In April, team manager Josh Stark announced his departure. In February, co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak stepped down after less than a year in the role. Several others have moved on to external projects.