- The Ethereum Foundation reportedly sold 100 ETH (~$271,000) on October 30, adding to over $11 million in ETH sales so far in 2024.
- Vitalik Buterin defended the Foundation’s sales, explaining they support critical development and security efforts, including research, transaction fee reduction, and privacy initiatives like zk-SNARK technology.
- Buterin emphasized the Foundation’s choice to avoid staking ETH, as it could create conflicts in potential network hard forks.
According to reports, the Ethereum Foundation has sold a significant amount of ETH today, October 30. On-chain analysis platform Arkham Intelligence shows that the foundation sold 100 ETH ($271,000), later highlighted by the social media profile “LookOnChain”, on Twitter.
In total, the post claims that the foundation has already sold over $11 million worth of ETH in 2024, and this move has sparked significant discussion within the crypto community.
The Ethereum Foundation is a non-profit organization with a large number of developers responsible for managing the Ethereum ecosystem. Many members of the Ethereum community have accused the foundation of capitalizing on the timing of these sales, and that the organization needed better transparency on how it manages its funds.
Ethereum is currently on a near 5% increase over the past week. It currently trades at $2,663 and is on a 1.49% surge over the last 24 hours.
The exact reason for today’s sale is still unclear, however, the Ethereum Foundation has previously used proceeds from such sales to fund critical development projects.
Vitalik Buterin Defends The Ethereum Foundation Sales
Ethereum’s co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently talked about the Ethereum Foundation sales.
In a Twitter post this week, Buterin explained that the sales fund critical projects and development work for the Ethereum network. He claimed that the sales were used to fund research and developers, efforts to keep transaction fees low, and also initiatives like zk-SNARK technology.
Buterin also highlighted that the proceeds are also used for security enhancements, preventing DoS attacks, and supporting local Ethereum events worldwide. He underscored that these sales enable the Foundation to maintain and improve Ethereum’s infrastructure without heavily impacting the network’s long-term goals.
When asked why the Foundation doesn’t stake all its ETH instead of directly selling it, Buterin clarified that staking could force them to take sides in contentious hard forks, which they want to avoid.
