Why did David Hoffman sell all of his ETH?

David Hoffman said he believes the long-running “ETH is Money” thesis has largely played out. He argued Ethereum’s future network growth may no longer translate into major gains for the ETH token itself.

What is the “ETH is Money” thesis?

The thesis argues that Ethereum’s native token Ether could function as a decentralised form of money and long-term store of value. Supporters believed Ethereum’s utility and supply mechanisms would eventually drive significant appreciation in ETH prices.

Why does Hoffman think ETH may not rerate higher?

Hoffman said Ethereum already achieved the valuation it currently deserves and no longer appears significantly undervalued. He suggested future ecosystem success may benefit users and applications more than ETH holders directly.

What does Hoffman mean by Ethereum operating “at cost”?

He argued Ethereum provides secure infrastructure, settlement and tokenisation services without aggressively extracting fees from users. According to Hoffman, much of the economic value created by Ethereum is captured by layer-2 networks and applications instead of ETH itself.

Is Hoffman bearish on Ethereum technology?

No, Hoffman said he remains “massively bullish” on Ethereum as a network and technology platform. His criticism focused mainly on ETH’s long-term investment performance rather than Ethereum’s adoption or utility.

Why has ETH underperformed compared with other crypto assets?

Some analysts and developers argue ETH has lagged because value creation increasingly happens on layer-2 networks built on top of Ethereum. Others point to heavy long-term selling pressure from early investors and reduced speculative momentum.

How far is Ethereum below its all-time high?

Ether remains roughly 60% below its peak near $5,000. Despite continued growth in decentralised finance and tokenisation, ETH has struggled to reclaim previous cycle highs.

What role do layer-2 networks play in this debate?

Layer-2 networks help scale Ethereum by processing transactions more efficiently and cheaply. Critics argue they capture much of the fee revenue and user activity that some investors previously expected to benefit ETH directly.

Image for illustrative purposes only. Not a real photo.

Ethereum bull David Hoffman exits ETH position

Written by Isaac FrancisPublished May 28, 2026, 6:45 AM

David Hoffman said he sold the remainder of his Ethereum holdings after concluding that the long-standing “ETH is Money” investment thesis had largely reached its limits.

Hoffman said Ethereum “got the ETH price it deserves” and argued he no longer sees a meaningful market rerating that would substantially increase or decrease the token’s valuation.

The “ETH is Money” thesis positioned Ether as a decentralised form of money and long-term store of value supported by Ethereum’s network utility and token supply mechanics designed to reduce inflation.

Hoffman argued that Ethereum’s architecture increasingly benefits users and layer-2 networks more than ETH holders because the base network provides secure infrastructure and tokenisation services “at cost” rather than maximising fee extraction.

He added that Ethereum remains “massively bullish” from a technology and adoption perspective but said only a “marginal amount” of the ecosystem’s future success may ultimately be reflected in ETH’s token price.

The comments triggered mixed reactions across the Ethereum community, with Ryan Sean Adams calling the decision “the end of an era” while former Ethereum core developer Eric Connor said ETH had significantly underperformed much of the broader crypto market in recent years.

Ethereum’s token price remains roughly 60% below its all-time high near $5,000 despite continued growth in decentralised finance, tokenisation and layer-2 blockchain ecosystems built around the network.

At the time of reporting, Ethereum price was $1,971.58.