Bankless co-founder David Hoffman has sold his Ether holdings, stating the “ETH is money” thesis has largely played out, limiting significant future appreciation. While he remains bullish on the Ethereum network’s success, he believes its architecture prioritizes ecosystem growth over ETH’s monetary status. This move coincides with growing bearish sentiment as social media discussions shift toward frustration and concerns over weakening fundamentals and competitive pressure.
David Hoffman, co-founder of Bankless, disclosed he sold his Ether because he believes the long-standing “ETH is money” thesis has already largely played out. He remains strongly bullish on Ethereum as a network despite this decision.
“ETH is money” thesis depended on Ethereum succeeding across multiple layers of coordination, including decentralized leadership, governance, Layer 2 ecosystems, roadmap execution, and technological development, Hoffman stated. He described Ethereum as “not Bitcoin,” saying it pursued a more ambitious path by expanding utility across various applications.
Hoffman explained that crypto’s broader “strong version” failed to maintain long-term mainstream support outside the 2020 to 2022 period. He said its reputation became associated with scams and speculative behavior, weakening the social belief system required for ETH to function as global money.
He further stated that Ether’s utility increasingly benefits other forms of money, like stablecoins, rather than ETH itself. Hoffman described Ethereum as a “giver, not a taker,” providing secure infrastructure at minimal cost rather than extracting maximum value for ETH holders.
His decision comes as bearish sentiment around Ethereum has been intensifying. A recent report by Santiment found social media discussions have shifted from optimism toward frustration and concerns about further downside.
The analytics firm said traders have increasingly viewed ETH as “dead money” compared to stronger-performing crypto assets. Weakening ETF flows, declining on-chain activity, and growing competition from ecosystems like Solana and BNB Chain have added pressure on sentiment.
Rumors about prominent Ethereum figures reducing or exiting ETH positions have contributed to rising uncertainty. Traders have worried about insiders losing confidence in the asset.
