Ethereum Foundation dissolves Protocol Support team in 20% staff cut

For half a decade, the Protocol Support unit acted as the connective tissue for Ethereum’s core development. The team managed high-stakes meetings between client developers and researchers, maintained the Forkcast upgrade tracker, and operated the Ethereum Protocol Fellowship, which funneled dozens of new contributors into the ecosystem. Former team member Mario Havel characterized the dissolution as a "bitter end" for the group, confirming via social media that while he remains with the Foundation, his colleagues have been let go.

The Foundation’s new structure, unveiled on June 23, reorganized operations into five distinct layers: protocol, access, user, community, and institutional. While the Foundation maintains that its core protocol cluster will continue to prioritize network upgrades and security, the transition has left the fate of specific programs—including the seventh cohort of the Protocol Fellowship—in limbo. Management has yet to clarify how the responsibilities previously held by the Protocol Support team will be distributed among the remaining staff.