The Ethereum Foundation announced in February 2025 that it had tapped two new leaders to guide the organization into its next phase: Hsiao‑Wei Wang and Tomasz Stańczak. This feature is a part of CoinDesk's Most Influential 2025 list, and it highlights the personnel change alongside ongoing EF activity. While the Foundation does not control Ethereum's technical roadmap, it remains central in supporting the developers and teams who do, so leadership shifts carry weight for the ecosystem.
What changed at the Ethereum Foundation in February 2025
In February the EF named Wang and Stańczak as the organization’s new leadership pairing, a move described internally as guiding the Foundation into its next phase. The announcement was framed against the EF's role of supporting developer teams rather than dictating the chain's technical direction. That framing helped explain why the appointments were read as an effort to combine internal protocol expertise with outside engineering experience.
Who are Hsiao‑Wei Wang and Tomasz Stańczak
Hsiao‑Wei Wang is a seven‑year EF veteran and core researcher who has contributed across multiple protocol upgrade paths. Her background within the Foundation positions her as the embedded protocol researcher in the new leadership arrangement, bringing continuity in technical work and upgrade planning.
Tomasz Stańczak comes from outside the Foundation and built one of Ethereum’s major software client teams, Nethermind. The contrast between Wang’s long EF tenure and Stańczak’s builder background was described as a deliberate hybrid leadership strategy: pairing a deeply embedded researcher with a seasoned builder to address both protocol and implementation needs.
Market reaction and ETH price movement in 2025
Early in 2025, as many major cryptocurrencies surged to fresh all‑time highs, ether lagged behind, and some community members critiqued EF leadership. The year saw a wide ETH swing, with the token climbing from a $1,554 bottom in April to an all‑time high of $4,886 in August, and then retreating to $2,806 as of publication. That volatility formed the backdrop to the leadership change and subsequent EF activity.
Actions and priorities under the new leadership
Since stepping into his role, Stańczak has hosted open community calls, inviting anyone interested to weigh in on the network’s direction. The EF has also rolled out updated roadmaps outlining approaches to privacy, security and the emerging role of AI, signaling priorities the organization plans to support. Beyond developer engagement, Stańczak told CoinDesk that he has met with traditional institutions as tokenization and ETFs brought new interest into the ecosystem this year, a sign of growing institutional attention.
Why this matters
For miners, the appointments signal an EF intent to balance deep protocol research with practical engineering and external engagement. That balance matters because the Foundation’s priorities and outreach—such as updated roadmaps on privacy, security and AI—can influence developer focus and tooling that miners rely on. At the same time, the EF’s role is supportive rather than directive, so direct technical changes still depend on the wider developer and client teams.
What to do?
- Follow EF communications and community calls: Stańczak has opened public calls, which are a direct channel to hear priorities and propose concerns.
- Watch roadmap updates on privacy, security and AI: prioritize software updates and client releases that respond to those EF‑backed priorities.
- Keep your node and mining software current: as developer focus shifts, updated clients and patches may affect compatibility and performance.
- Monitor market movements: ETH moved from $1,554 in April to $4,886 in August and was $2,806 at publication, so plan based on your own risk tolerance rather than short‑term swings.
For further reading on why executives favor Ethereum and how institutional moves affect the ecosystem, see why leaders choose Ethereum and coverage of major stakeholders such as C1 Fund stake.
