The price of ETH has not performed remarkably this year, which makes the periodic sell-offs by the Ethereum Foundation all the more eye-catching. When Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin was asked why the Ethereum Foundation does not stake ETH for yield but continues to sell off its holdings, Vitalik took to social media to explain.
(Vitalik Reveals Annual Salary: 182,000 Singapore Dollars, Detailed Spending of the Ethereum Foundation Fully Disclosed)
Vitalik Explains ETH Sell-Offs
The crypto community often irrationally criticizes the Ethereum Foundation for selling ETH, with even slight changes in Vitalik’s wallet address being magnified and scrutinized. Recently, Vitalik has frequently responded to similar inquiries and defended the Foundation’s actions:
@Hexologist31: Stop dumping!
Vitalik replied:
I haven’t sold any ETH in the past month? My ETH holdings have actually increased.
@NeoCallss: What’s the situation with the Ethereum Foundation selling ETH?
Vitalik pointed out the efforts of the Ethereum Foundation over the past few years:
Ethereum no longer issues 5 million additional ETH each year due to proof of work.
The fees for using Ethereum are very low today.
Your Ethereum transactions can be completed in 30 seconds, rather than 1-30 minutes (EIP 1559).
You should show a bit of respect to the Ethereum Foundation.
(A Brief History of EIP1559 for Busy People: No, It Won’t Guarantee an Increase in Ether)
Vitalik Buys a Yacht?
@BarretAche7427: Do you spend hundreds of millions on yachts every year, while discussing the lack of innovation and the actual meaninglessness of POS?
Vitalik stated:
I think I’ve been on (other people’s) yachts less than five times in the past decade, and everyone has a very broad definition of yachts. I prefer to hang out in cafes, although sometimes people upload weird one-minute videos of me working on my laptop to social media (please don’t do that).
Reasons for the Ethereum Foundation Not Staking ETH
Independent researcher @jason_chen998 asked why the Ethereum Foundation does not stake all its ETH like the Nobel Prize Foundation to cover costs with the yield. Why not consider market sentiment and public opinion while insisting on periodic ETH sell-offs? If you claim that Ethereum’s POS is very secure, why not stake ETH yourselves? Is there a lack of confidence in POS?
Vitalik replied that they do not want to be forced to make an “official choice” during a contentious hard fork.
One internal reason why has been that we don’t want to be in the situation of being forced to make an “official choice” in the event of a contentious hard fork. One interesting idea around this that is being considered is giving some grants in the form of “you can stake our ETH,…
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) October 27, 2024
Ethereum Foundation’s Staking Donation Plan
Vitalik also pointed out that the Foundation is considering a staking donation program, where users can stake the Foundation’s ETH. Users can choose how to stake, as long as it is advantageous and ethical, but a portion of the earnings needs to be donated to the Foundation. Another approach would involve transferring resources (presumably ETH) to multiple trusted organizations that can represent Ethereum. Despite Vitalik’s recent active statements regarding Ethereum’s development, seemingly transforming into a CEO role, ETH has not shown improvement, and its price has been overshadowed by its top competitor.
(Meme Craze Boosts Prices, Protocol Revenue Soars, SOL/ETH Hits Historical Highs)