On May 21, David Hoffman posted on X, announcing that he had sold all his ETH holdings.
On the same day, Ryan Sean Adams followed up with a post. He mentioned that he “remains bullish on ETH and Bankless.” However, as Bankless enters its “second era,” he plans to take a step back. The weekly podcast will continue, but the content direction and guest selection will no longer be his focus, as “David will take full control.”
Former Bankless member Lucas took to social media to express, “Let me just lay out the things that cannot be said—Bankless apparently laid off most of the team yesterday. There was neither a thank you nor a public announcement to help the team members find new opportunities.”
All these events unfolded during a period of significant turnover within the Ethereum Foundation.
They Were Once ETH’s Most Loyal Mouthpieces
Bankless is not your typical crypto media outlet. In September 2020, David Hoffman and Ryan Sean Adams co-founded this brand, starting from a newsletter and growing over five years to become one of the most vital content ecosystems in the English-speaking crypto space. With podcasts, videos, a paid membership called Citizenship, a derivative DAO, and the separate venture capital fund Bankless Ventures established in 2023, valued at around $35 million. They have a dedicated Ethereum Weekly section.
It served as ETH’s most crucial amplifier of narratives, bar none. The core argument of this amplifier mainly stemmed from David Hoffman. David Hoffman, with a background in counseling psychology, entered the space in 2017. He initially served as the COO of the real estate tokenization platform RealT and began writing in-depth articles on Ethereum fundamentals in 2019. He was the research arm within Bankless, the narrative architect. Ryan Sean Adams had a more extensive investment track record, having established positions in crypto around 2017 through Mythos Capital, taking on a macro cycle-oriented, evangelist role on the show.
Starting in 2019, David Hoffman has successively written “Ether: The Triple Point Asset,” “Ether is Equity,” “Ethereum’s Economic Engine,” and “The Ethereum Watershed.” The core argument is that ETH possesses triple characteristics of money, bonds, and equity, making it a “triple point asset.” This narrative has provided ETH holders with a set of fundamental tools, transforming ETH from just a cryptocurrency into the underlying asset of the digital financial stack.
David Hoffman himself has taken this argument to the extreme. He has publicly stated that 99% of his net worth is in Ethereum, and he doesn’t even have a bank account. At the Davos Forum in January 2026, he even mentioned that Ethereum will establish a new global order by 2026. Only four months have passed since he announced his divestment today.
What Happened Inside Bankless
Bankless’ narrative collapse on ETH did not happen overnight. In April 2025, when ETH fell to $1415, David Hoffman publicly called out Ethereum’s leadership and culture for “driving away users and developers,” demanding that the Ethereum Foundation make a change. In October 2025, he “mourned” the departure of the longest-serving researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, Dankrad Feist, who left to join the stablecoin L1 project Tempo, openly expressing concerns about talent being siphoned off by for-profit companies from the Ethereum Foundation.
In December 2025, he wrote “Crypto’s Yearly Candles,” acknowledging that 2025 was a bearish year for both ETH and BTC. In January 2026, he wrote “This Crypto Cycle Skipped ETH,” believing that this cycle’s rally skipped ETH. On the day the Ethereum Foundation released its new Mandate in March 2026, he wrote “The EF’s Endless Manifestos,” criticizing the Ethereum Foundation for “not intending to fight for ETH’s market share.” So today’s liquidation is not considered sudden.
Aside from David Hoffman, Adams’ approach is worth mentioning. He stated that he “still believes in ETH,” not that he has “reduced his position,” nor that he is “following David.” This can be seen as a relatively graceful internal power transition, following the recent layoffs at Bankless. By handing over content leadership to David, Adams implied that Bankless will be more “ETH-lite” moving forward, featuring more Solana, Hyperliquid, prediction markets, and an ICO renaissance.
Ethereum Foundation Undergoes Another Major Shake-up
Since Vitalik initiated the restructuring of the Ethereum Foundation in 2025, the Foundation has gone through several rounds of significant changes. Long-time leader Aya Miyaguchi stepped down as Executive Director, with Tomasz Stańczak and Hsiao-Wei Wang taking on the role of Co-Executive Directors. The community’s discontent with the Foundation’s lack of transparency, slow pace, and failure to capture value for ETH has been brewing for a long time.
But as of 2026, these changes continue. On February 13, 2026, Stańczak announced his resignation as co-ED at the end of February, after serving for less than a year. Bastian Aue succeeded him. On March 13, 2026, the Ethereum Foundation released a 38-page “Ethereum Foundation Mandate.” The core of this is the CROPS framework, which stands for censorship-resistant, open source, private, and secure. The document makes it clear that the Ethereum Foundation is reverting to being a “neutral nightwatchman,” not leading ecosystem expansion and not being responsible for ETH’s price.
According to community rumors, the Ethereum Foundation is requiring employees to sign and accept the new Mandate, or they will have to leave. From March to May 2026, all three heads of the Ethereum Foundation’s Protocol Cluster departed, with five senior researchers leaving in a single month in May. The complete list includes Carl Beekhuizen (a seven-year veteran), Julian Ma, Barnabé Monnot, Tim Beiko, Trent Van Epps, Alex Stokes, Josh Stark, along with former co-ED Stańczak. Eight individuals in one year.
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The Great Divestment: When Ethereum’s Most Faithful Bull Dumps His Holdings
The crypto world was rocked when David Hoffman, co-founder of Bankless and Ethereum’s most prominent evangelist, revealed he had sold his entire ETH holdings. This isn’t just another whale moving funds—it’s the equivalent of the Pope renouncing Christianity. Hoffman, who once stated that 99% of his net worth was in Ethereum and that he didn’t even have a bank account, has performed a complete 180°, liquidating everything during a period when Ethereum is already underperforming. Combined with the turmoil at Bankless and the exodus of leadership from the Ethereum Foundation, this signals a fundamental crisis of confidence at the core of Ethereum’s ecosystem.
The Narrative Architect’s Fall from Grace
David Hoffman wasn’t just another influencer; he was the intellectual foundation behind modern Ethereum bullishness. His “Triple Point Asset” thesis—positioning ETH as simultaneously money, bonds, and equity—provided sophisticated investors with a compelling framework to justify holding ETH over other cryptocurrencies. This narrative transformed ETH from a mere cryptocurrency into the “digital oil” of the financial stack.
Hoffman’s complete divestment is particularly damaging because it comes after a pattern of growing disillusionment. His public criticisms of Ethereum’s leadership, concerns about talent leaving for for-profit ventures, and acknowledgment that “this crypto cycle skipped ETH” suggest this wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. Rather, it represents a fundamental reassessment of Ethereum’s value proposition after years of unwavering belief.
Bankless: From ETH Amplifier to ETH-Lite
Bankless’ situation is equally telling. Ryan Sean Adams’ statement that he “remains bullish on ETH” while stepping back from content direction, combined with reports of mass layoffs, paints a picture of an organization in transition. More importantly, Adams’暗示 that Bankless will become “ETH-lite” featuring more coverage of Solana, Hyperliquid, and prediction markets signals a strategic pivot away from being an Ethereum-only platform.
This shift is significant because Bankless wasn’t just a media outlet—it was the primary amplifier for Ethereum’s bullish narrative. Without this megaphone, Ethereum’s bullish arguments will struggle to gain traction in an increasingly crowded market where other L1s are more aggressively capturing narrative share.
Ethereum Foundation: Leadership in Freefall
The turmoil at the Ethereum Foundation compounds these concerns. The departure of eight senior figures in one year—including protocol heads and veteran researchers—indicates severe internal strife. The Foundation’s new “CROPS” mandate positioning it as a “neutral nightwatchman” rather than a market leader for ETH is particularly alarming.
This represents a fundamental philosophical shift away from Ethereum’s previous pro-growth stance. When the entity responsible for Ethereum’s development retreats from advocating for ETH’s market share, it creates a dangerous vacuum that competitors are all too willing to fill. The fact that employees are allegedly being forced to accept this new mandate or leave suggests an organization divided about its core mission.
Market Implications: Short-Term Pain, Long-Term Strategic Shift
For investors, this situation creates both immediate risks and strategic opportunities.
Risks:
– Narrative damage: Hoffman’s divestment will likely trigger follow selling from other true believers who internalized his “100% in ETH” philosophy
– Reduced development momentum: The EF’s leadership vacuum could slow critical upgrades and ecosystem growth
– Competitive disadvantage: As Ethereum retreats from aggressive market positioning, competitors like Solana are capturing developer mindshare and capital
Opportunities:
– Contrarian buying: The overreaction to Hoffman’s divestment may create buying opportunities for those with long-term conviction in Ethereum’s network effects
– Strategic shift: The Ethereum ecosystem may benefit from a refocusing on fundamental utility rather than speculative price appreciation
– Market rotation: Capital may flow to other L1s with more aggressive growth narratives, creating opportunities in emerging ecosystems
Conclusion: A Necessary Reckoning
While the immediate headlines are negative, what we’re witnessing may be a necessary correction rather than a death knell for Ethereum. Hoffman’s extreme maximalism was never sustainable, and the Ethereum Foundation’s retreat from market-focused leadership could force the ecosystem to rediscover its core value proposition beyond narrative warfare.
For sophisticated investors, the key insight is that Ethereum’s future likely lies in becoming a more neutral platform rather than a speculative asset. This transition will be painful but could ultimately result in a more resilient, utility-driven ecosystem. The question isn’t whether Ethereum will survive—it’s whether it can adapt to a market that demands more than just bullish narratives and network effects.