Bankless Co-Founder David Hoffman Sells All His ETH Holdings
Felix Pinkston May 27, 2026 06:31
David Hoffman, Ethereum advocate and Bankless co-founder, has sold all his ETH, citing diminished upside potential for the token.
David Hoffman, co-founder of the crypto media outlet Bankless and a prominent Ethereum advocate, has revealed that he sold his entire Ether (ETH) position. Hoffman announced the decision via an X post on May 21, citing a belief that the window for ETH to achieve a significant market repricing has closed.
“Ethereum got the ETH price it deserves, and I don’t see ETH being rerated as an asset, higher or lower,” Hoffman wrote. While remaining optimistic about Ethereum’s future as a blockchain, he no longer sees its native token, ETH, as a primary beneficiary of that success.
ETH is currently trading at $2,073.32 as of May 27, 2026, down nearly 60% from its all-time high of just under $5,000 reached in late 2021. The token’s price has been rangebound for years, underperforming other major cryptocurrencies during the most recent market cycles.
“ETH Is Money” Thesis Falls Flat
Hoffman’s decision marks a symbolic shift, given his long-standing advocacy for the "ETH is Money" narrative. This thesis posits that Ethereum’s native token functions as a superior store of value due to its decentralized nature and inflation-resistant mechanisms introduced after the London hard fork in 2021.
However, Hoffman now argues that this narrative has "played out" and that ETH has achieved fair market value relative to its utility. He noted that Ethereum’s ecosystem is increasingly designed to distribute value across Layer 2 networks, applications, and other on-chain assets, rather than concentrating it in ETH itself. “Ethereum supplies its full set of incredibly important values to the world… at cost,” he added, underscoring the blockchain’s open-source ethos.
Market Reaction and Broader Implications
The announcement has drawn mixed reactions from the Ethereum community. Ryan Sean Adams, Hoffman’s Bankless co-founder, described the sale as "the end of an era." Meanwhile, former Ethereum core developer Eric Conner pointed out that ETH has "grossly underperformed the general crypto market for many years now," attributing the lag to selling pressure from early investors, rather than protocol flaws.
Hoffman’s move also comes amid broader discussions about Ethereum’s ability to capture value as its ecosystem matures. In 2026, the Ethereum Foundation and other major holders have reportedly been offloading ETH, contributing to downward price pressure and raising questions about long-term valuation.
Trading Outlook
For traders, Hoffman’s exit serves as a cautionary signal that Ethereum’s native token may face limited upside in the near term. ETH’s current market cap of $249.3 billion reflects a mature asset that has likely priced in much of Ethereum’s growth potential. With the blockchain’s innovation increasingly benefiting applications and Layer 2 solutions, ETH holders may need to recalibrate expectations for future returns.
Despite his sale, Hoffman emphasized that he remains "massively bullish" on Ethereum’s network fundamentals. However, his assessment underscores a growing consensus: Ethereum’s success as a platform doesn’t necessarily translate into exponential gains for its native token.
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