A blockchain researcher has defended the Ethereum Foundation against recent criticism, stating it is fulfilling its intended role as a protocol steward, not a marketing entity. William Mougayar argued that confusion between the Foundation, the Ethereum asset, and the network’s infrastructure leads to misplaced criticism. This comes as the Foundation faces scrutiny for recent sales and unstaking of ETH, which some claim harms the token’s price performance.
A blockchain researcher has pushed back against growing criticism of the Ethereum Foundation. In a post titled “Leave the Foundation Alone,” William Mougayar argued the EF is a protocol steward, not a marketing engine.
Mougayar stated that ETH, Ethereum and the Ethereum Foundation are three separate entities with three separate trajectories. “The asset is money. The infrastructure is shared compute. The Foundation is a non-profit that is steering the protocol toward irrelevance for its own founders,” he wrote.
He said the EF is on a “subtraction path,” working to become less central to Ethereum over time. “It is hardening the protocol so the world does not need it so much. It is shipping upgrades. It is funding the research that nobody else funds,” Mougayar wrote.
The foundation has faced a wave of criticism from the crypto community in recent months. ETH sales, unstaking moves and public silence have drawn repeated accusations that the organization is harming ETH’s price performance.
Earlier this month, the foundation completed its third OTC sale of ETH to BitMine Immersion Technologies, offloading 10,000 ETH for roughly $22.9 million. Combined with earlier transactions, the Foundation has sold approximately $47 million worth of ETH to BitMine in recent weeks.
The sale came shortly after the foundation unstaked 17,035 ETH worth around $40 million. The EF also unstaked another 21,270 Ether from Lido, worth nearly $50 million, earlier this month.
ETH is currently trading at $2,117.09, up by 4.67% over the past day. However, the token is down more than 57% compared to its all-time high of $4,953 recorded in August last year, according to data.
