Ethereum Foundation’s Multiple Ether Sales Raise Market Concerns
Recently, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin (known as V God) and the Ethereum Foundation have sold Ether multiple times, causing widespread attention and concern within the community. On-chain analysis shows that the Ethereum Foundation has converted Ether into cash multiple times this year. For example, on October 15th, the foundation sold approximately $258,000 worth of Ether, and two weeks ago, it transferred approximately $3.03 million worth of Ether to the Bitstamp exchange. According to data from on-chain analyst Lookonchain, the foundation has cashed out over $11 million worth of Ether since January.
These transactions have raised concerns among market participants, especially because they often coincide with bullish trends in the Ether market. Some community members believe that these actions by Buterin and the foundation are weakening the market performance of Ether and have repeatedly called on Buterin to “stop selling Ether.”
V God Clarifies: I Haven’t Sold Any Ether, My Holdings Have Increased
In response to market doubts, Vitalik clarified on October 26th that he has not sold any Ether in the past month and has even increased his holdings. He emphasized that the recent transactions were not his personal actions but rather fund management by the Ethereum Foundation.
When further questioned about the reason for the foundation’s sale of over $3.3 million worth of Ether this month, Buterin provided a detailed explanation. He pointed out that the foundation is funding a series of important research and development projects that are crucial for the development of the Ethereum ecosystem.
Foundation Funds Key Developments, Vitalik Calls for Community Understanding
According to Vitalik’s response, the projects funded by the Ethereum Foundation include preventing the loss of 5 million Ether annually due to the Proof of Work (PoW) mechanism, maintaining low transaction fees, and ensuring transactions are processed within 30 seconds instead of taking 1 to 30 minutes. Additionally, the foundation is committed to developing zero-knowledge technology (zk-tech), such as zk-railway, which allows for private use of Ethereum.
He also mentioned that the foundation is developing account abstraction technology that allows regular users to securely use Ether without the need to remember mnemonic phrases and avoid the risks of centralization. The foundation has organized local Ethereum events around the world, although its name was not prominently displayed.
Furthermore, since 2016, Ethereum has maintained zero downtime in preventing Distributed Denial of Service (DoS) attacks and consensus failures. The foundation has implemented multiple security measures through internal development and funding programs, helping prevent significant funds loss. They also provide databases that support various coding requirements, such as wallets and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
Finally, Vitalik urges community members to respect the foundation’s efforts and refrain from criticizing its necessary fund management. He emphasizes that the foundation’s use of funds is for the long-term development of the Ethereum ecosystem and should be understood and supported.