Eugen Rochko Leaves Mastodon: Founder Exits With €1 Million Payout

It’s now official: Eugen Rochko, the creator of Mastodon, is stepping down as CEO. After nearly a decade dedicated to the decentralized social network, Rochko announced that he is leaving his position with a €1 million exit package, and, judging from his statement, a heavy sense of relief.

This decision comes after what he describes as two extremely difficult years, during which the sudden growth of Mastodon, followed by intense community pressure, severely affected his mental and physical health. He even points to a “particularly difficult interaction” with a user last summer as a moment that pushed him to rethink his future.

And that’s the irony: the founder of a “better social network” is leaving it partly because of the social behavior of its users.

The Fediverse Was Supposed to Be Different — So What Went Wrong?

When Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, Mastodon briefly became the great alternative. The platform jumped to 2.5 million monthly active users, as frustrated Twitter/X users rushed toward what they believed was a healthier, decentralized environment.

Fast forward to today: Mastodon counts around 750,000 active users, a 70% drop. Many left as quickly as they joined.

The reason? A lot of newcomers discovered that building a decentralized social network doesn’t automatically create a respectful community. Technology can decentralize platforms, but it can’t decentralize human behavior.

Matthew Hodgson, founder of Matrix/Element, summarizes the situation well: many people expect decentralized platforms to “save them from the dystopian landscape” of mainstream social networks. But even without algorithms, corporate moderation, or endless engagement tricks, the central issue remains: the users themselves.

Rochko’s Exit and What Happens Next

Rochko will remain in a consulting role for two to three months, helping during the transition. The board of Mastodon will oversee the process, and yes, one of its members is Biz Stone — co-founder of Twitter. The irony writes itself.

The next CEO will have a huge challenge ahead: maintain growth, balance moderation across independent servers, manage community expectations, and lead a decentralized platform without the centralized power that typically makes decisions easier. It’s a difficult mission, and it’s fair to wonder who will be willing to take it on.

What Mastodon’s Turmoil Says About Social Media Today

Many users fled traditional social networks because of toxicity, trolling, harassment, and polarization. But as the fediverse experiment shows, technology alone can’t fix human nature.

Whether platforms are centralized or not, when online communities are built around performance, attention, or outrage, unhealthy behaviors follow. In contrast, smaller spaces—Discord servers, Patreon communities, forums—often remain peaceful simply because they lack the validation mechanisms that reward negative behavior.

Maybe the future of meaningful communication isn’t in replacing big platforms, but in building smaller, intentional, community-driven spaces instead of massive public arenas.

A Well-Deserved Break

Rochko’s departure may be seen as a sign of failure by some, but in reality, it’s a clear acknowledgment of limits. He built one of the most influential decentralized platforms, inspired a wave of alternatives, and helped launch the modern fediverse movement. If leaving means protecting his health, then it’s undeniably the right choice.

And with a €1 million exit package, he can finally take a break — hopefully somewhere without Wi-Fi notifications.