Bankless Founder Liquidates ETH Holdings, Ethereum Faith Collective Disillusioned

Original｜Odaily Planet Daily（@OdailyChina）

Author｜Wenser（@wenser 2010 ）

ETH is once again facing a "crisis of faith." And this time, the spark is Bankless, a crypto media outlet that has long championed Ethereum. Co-founder David Hoffman voluntarily posted that he has "sold his last ETH." Community user @Ox_Lucas also revealed that Bankless has allegedly laid off most of its team members recently. Undoubtedly, "the loyal ETH defenders have reached their moment of exit."

In 2026, as the wave of tokenizing US stocks surges and crypto ETFs become a standard institutional allocation, this should have been a glory moment for Ethereum. However, the invalidation of the L2 roadmap, a wave of high-level departures from the foundation, and the reality that ETH prices follow downturns but not uptrends have left it in an awkward position.

David Hoffman's liquidation might be just the beginning of the "ETH defenders' exit."

Co-founder Steps Back, Bankless Enters Phase Two

Newcomers might not be very familiar with Bankless. Since its founding in 2020, it has been the "mouthpiece media" for the Ethereum ecosystem, and the Bankless DAO built around it was once the "number one DAO community." But now, Bankless has concluded its "Phase One" development journey and must inevitably usher in its Phase Two.

After David Hoffman publicly stated that he had liquidated his ETH, Bankless co-founder Ryan Sean Adams quickly posted: "It's time to come clean. Bankless's first era is over. This has been a six-year collaboration between David and me exploring crypto, DeFi, and Ethereum maximalism. We are now in a second era.

In this era, I plan to step back and support David in exploring new frontiers in crypto and beyond. I will still host the podcast weekly (never miss a recap meeting), but will have a reduced role in content direction and guest interviews. David remains at the helm, and I fully support him. Personally, I am still bullish on ETH and bullish on Bankless."

Six years after its founding, Bankless has achieved remarkable results: besides interviews with notable figures like Vitalik, Chris Dixon, Hayden Adams, and others, the media outlet has accumulated 280,000 subscribers on YouTube and 350,000 newsletter readers; its podcast has received a high rating of 4.7 on platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and has been listed by several media outlets in the "Top 10 Best Crypto Podcasts," with many calling it "the ultimate guide to Web3 education."

But now, David Hoffman's dissatisfaction is palpable, to the point of expressing his stance by "liquidating his ETH," with his criticism aimed squarely at the current Ethereum Foundation.

"When the Most Loyal ETH Defender Decides to Liquidate": Bankless Co-founder Blasts the Ethereum Foundation

After David Hoffman's post, it quickly sparked heated discussion in the Ethereum community. Some joked that "leaving the Ethereum ecosystem periodically and coming back" is a regular routine, calling him "a seasonal barometer," suggesting that when he turns bullish on ETH again, it would be a market peak and a time to be cautious.

Subsequently, David Hoffman responded directly: "I have always supported Ethereum as a blockchain network, but ETH as an asset is becoming increasingly questionable. Let's not conflate the two."

Then, a community member cut to the chase: "So you support ETH but are skeptical of the Ethereum Foundation?"

David Hoffman did not mince words: "Unfortunately, you cannot separate ETH's price performance from its leadership." His dissatisfaction with the Ethereum Foundation, the "flagship of the ecosystem," was plain to see.

It's worth noting that this is not the first time David Hoffman has expressed dissatisfaction with the Ethereum Foundation:

• In April last year, when the ETH price dropped below $1,500, he publicly stated that "Ethereum's leadership and culture are driving away users and developers";
• In October last year, the departure of Ethereum Foundation researcher Dankrad Feist led him to express concerns about talent drain in the Ethereum ecosystem;
• In March this year, he directly criticized the Ethereum Foundation in his article "The EF's Endless Manifestos" for "not working to expand Ethereum's market."

As it stands now, David Hoffman's attitude towards ETH and the Ethereum Foundation has long transitioned from "grief over its lack of ambition, anger over its misfortune" to "the deepest despair that borders on apathy."

On the other side of the story, of course, lies the "lack of ambition" of ETH and the Ethereum Foundation themselves.

According to Coinglass data, the ETH/BTC exchange rate fell to 0.02835 on May 12, its lowest level since July 2025, down over 35% from its August 2025 high of 0.04324.

Meanwhile, the Ethereum Foundation is also experiencing a wave of departures: On May 19, Ethereum Foundation researchers Carl Beek and Julian Ma officially announced they would be leaving. The former had been with the organization for seven years, while the latter had worked for the Ethereum Foundation for four years, accompanying it through thousands of days and nights.

Earlier, several top executives and researchers from the Ethereum Foundation had already left, including co-Executive Director Tomasz K. Stańczak (departed in February), Josh Stark (departed in March), and Protocol team leads Barnabé Monnot, Tim Beiko, and Alex Stokes (who stepped down earlier this month). Since the beginning of this year, at least 8 high-level members have left the Ethereum Foundation.

Bizarrely, the main reason for these departures stems from preposterous triggers like the foundation requiring employees to sign loyalty oaths, which is quite ironic.

Combined with the Ethereum Foundation's continuous ETH sales regardless of market cycles, and even its direct over-the-counter (OTC) trades of ETH to the Ethereum DAT treasury company Bitmine, this organization seems to have lost its "last bit of core support." With internal talent drain and external competitive weakness, the future of the Ethereum Foundation appears even bleaker than that of Bankless.

After DAT, What's the Next Solution for Ethereum?

In April last year, after attending the ETH Hangzhou offline event, I wrote an article based on interviews titled "ETH Hangzhou On-site Investigation: Ethereum Has Entered Middle Age, No Hope for New Price Highs in Three Years". At that time, ETH's price was also struggling around the baseline, and many had little hope for its future performance. However, with the DAT craze hitting in June and July, buying from listed companies like Bitmine and Sharplink still pushed ETH's price peak close to $5,000.

Now, ETH's price has been cut in half from its peak, by over 50%. The difference is that when people discuss Ethereum now, they no longer see it as the sole answer for "new financial infrastructure." The L2 roadmap has been thoroughly invalidated, and Hyperliquid has become the new "on-chain infrastructure." What is the next solution waiting for ETH and Ethereum? No one can give a precise answer.

Compared to the past, when token prices fell but ecosystem development was in full swing, the now-silent Ethereum ecosystem might be more despairing. David Hoffman's liquidation of his ETH may have its own reasons, but his gradual estrangement from the Ethereum ecosystem is an undeniable fact.