Bankless co-founder David Hoffman disclosed on May 26 via X that he sold all his ETH holdings, stating the long-running 'ETH is money' thesis has largely played out. He made clear the sale is not a bearish turn on Ethereum but a capital reallocation move. He remains bullish on the network and its ecosystem, yet expects future value growth to flow more to applications and L2s rather than to ETH itself.
Ethereum value creation may bypass ETH
Hoffman's core argument centers on how Ethereum generates value. The network supports apps, L2s, stablecoins, tokenized assets, and DeFi, but its open-source design returns much of that value to the ecosystem. In his view, even if ETH fails to capture all that growth as an asset, Ethereum can still expand as infrastructure.
Stablecoins illustrate the shift clearly. Ethereum's stablecoin supply reached a record $180 billion, giving the network nearly 60% of global stablecoin supply. This shows Ethereum strengthening dollar-based payment rails rather than solely driving demand for ETH. Meanwhile, Vitalik Buterin stated the Ethereum Foundation will sell less ETH under a leaner long-term plan focused on security, privacy, openness, and censorship resistance.
L2 activity and value capture debate
The same question appears across Ethereum's L2 roadmap. Hoffman said L2 teams need freedom to move fast but also require stronger ties to the broader Ethereum economy and brand. He argued the rollup strategy helps scaling but may leave more margins with L2s and applications.
To address L2 fragmentation, Gnosis, Zisk, and the Ethereum Foundation launched the Ethereum Economic Zone at EthCC. The framework covers over 20 L2s securing about $40 billion in value and aims to standardize ETH as gas across participating networks, reducing cross-chain friction.
Corporate treasury strategies show another demand side
Hoffman's sale comes as some public companies continue building Ethereum-linked treasury strategies. SharpLock secured inclusion in the Russell 2000 and Russell 3000 indexes, tied to its Ethereum treasury business and institutional crypto exposure. This contrast highlights market divergence: a native Ethereum voice moves away from ETH as a personal holding, while corporations build financial products around the asset. Hoffman's position sits between those views: Ethereum keeps growing, but ETH may no longer offer the structural rerating he once expected.
Bankless internal transition: layoffs and a new era
The timing coincides with Bankless's own transition. The media brand faced backlash over reported staff cuts, with co-founder Ryan Sean Adams saying the first era had ended. Hoffman's ETH sale adds another marker to that shift.
At the time of reporting, Ethereum (ETH) traded near $2,100, down 1% in 24 hours and 2% over the past week.