Eric Conner, a prominent core developer at Ethereum, has left the ecosystem community after a nearly 11-year affiliation

Conner is a co-author of EIP-1559, the major network change that shifted how transaction fees worked on Ethereum.

A prominent Ethereum core developer is leaving the ecosystem after nearly 11 years, following network co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s dismissal of a leadership shake-up proposal.

Eric Conner, a co-author of EIP-1559 – the major network change that shifted how transaction fees worked on Ethereum – is joining AI-focused protocol Fresya.AI, he said in a follow-up X post.

Conner is not officially employed by Ethereum but has advised, invested in and led the charge on ecosystem growth since its early days.

"After nearly 11 years and countless memories, I'm stepping back from the Ethereum ecosystem," Conner wrote in the post on Friday. "I've decided to join Fresya.AI full-time as they build an AI-focused protocol."

Conner thanked the Ethereum community and said he will "always cherish" his time working on the network. He added that he will continue to support Ethereum from the sidelines.

"I'll be cheering on the community from the bleachers and continuing to support the ecosystem in any way I can," he wrote.

Buterin swatted away calls for changing the leadership structure at the Ethereum Foundation, which oversees the development of the second-largest blockchain by market cap.

"I want to create a board to manage the foundation, but until then I am the leader. Everyone who reports to me directly on the foundation team is ultimately accountable to me," Buterin said on X.

The comment came amid calls by ecosystem stakeholders for a change in the network's leadership, with founding member Anthony Donofrio opining that the blockchain has lost its way.

The network is also planning to roll-out its Pectra upgrade, which promises speed efficiency and other improvements, in March.