David Hoffman, co-founder of Bankless, sold his Ethereum holdings and reopened debate around ETH’s long-term value outlook. In a May 26 post on X, Hoffman said he still believes strongly in Ethereum’s future as a network. However, he argued that the “ETH is money” thesis has largely played out, leaving limited room for another major market rerating.
His remarks quickly stirred fresh discussions across the crypto industry about Ethereum’s economics, Layer-2 growth, and the relationship between network adoption and ETH’s price. Hoffman said Ethereum “earned the market cap that it deserves,” but added that the ecosystem now benefits applications and rollups more directly than ETH holders.
“I am massively bullish Ethereum,” Hoffman wrote. However, he added that only “a marginal amount” of Ethereum’s future success may translate into higher ETH prices. Consequently, his comments highlighted growing concerns that Ethereum’s expanding utility may no longer guarantee stronger returns for the token itself.
Ethereum’s coordination problem resurfaces
Hoffman said Ethereum faced a difficult balancing act from the beginning. The network tried to expand rapidly while keeping its decentralized structure intact. At the same time, Ethereum needed developers, Layer-2 networks, and community leaders to move in the same direction. According to Hoffman, that coordination became harder as competition across crypto intensified.
He argued that rival blockchains slowly captured more user activity, trading volume, and transaction revenue. Hoffman pointed to Solana, BNB Chain, and TRON as examples where rising network usage translated more directly into token price growth. As a result, he believes Ethereum lost the fee dominance needed to strengthen the long-term “ETH is money” narrative.
Moreover, Hoffman said the crypto industry lost much of its public momentum after 2021. He blamed scams, speculative trading, and weak consumer adoption for damaging the sector’s reputation. Hence, Ethereum’s broader vision of internet-native decentralized money struggled to gain lasting mainstream trust.
Vitalik Buterin pushes long-term Ethereum survival
Meanwhile, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin signaled a more defensive strategy for the Ethereum Foundation as debate around ETH’s future intensified. In a lengthy post on X, Buterin said the foundation will focus more on Ethereum’s long-term survival and less on aggressive expansion. He also confirmed the organization plans to reduce future ETH sales.
Buterin said Ethereum should prioritize decentralization, privacy, and censorship resistance instead of chasing higher transaction speeds alone. He argued that competing purely on scalability would push Ethereum toward “mediocrity.” Instead, he called for infrastructure that remains secure, resilient, and technically advanced over the long term.
The comments arrived during a turbulent period for Bankless, the crypto media platform Hoffman co-founded. Reports from crypto community members claimed the company quietly laid off most of its staff. At the same time, co-founder Ryan Sean Adams described the shift as the end of Bankless’ “first era” after six years covering Ethereum, DeFi, and digital assets.
Ethereum traded near $2,060 as of writing, according to CoinMarketCap data. The token remained down roughly 2% over the past week as traders weighed Hoffman’s remarks and broader market uncertainty.
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