The Ethereum Foundation ignited a heated debate within the crypto community after it announced its intention to sell around 10,000 ETH through centralized exchanges.
On September 2, the Ethereum Foundation issued a transparency notice outlined its plan to convert 10,000 ETH over several weeks.
The foundation said revenue from these sales will support key research and development initiatives, grant programs and charitable contributions.
To minimize the impact on the market, organizations emphasized that transformations occur due to multiple small transactions rather than a single large order.
Today, blockchain analytics company Lookonchain confirmed that the Ethereum Foundation has already begun its sales process.
The company reported that the foundation deposited 10,000 ETH, and was worth $42.7 million at the time of relocation.
Despite this substantial move, the foundation’s public wallet holds around 224,800 ETH, worth around $1.05 billion.
Mixed reaction trail moves
Various community members have criticised the decision to sell ETH directly, claiming that alternative financing mechanisms exist within the Ethereum ecosystem.
Crypto Investor Blueprint: 5-day course on bag holdings, insider frontrunning, and lost alpha
These critics argue that the foundation can leverage existing Defi protocols rather than selling assets in central exchanges.
Marc Zeller, founder of Aavechan, briefly expresses his disapproval, suggesting that the foundation “just use Aave” rather than pursuing direct sales.
His comments reflect the broader community’s sentiment that the foundation should utilize highly mandatory infrastructure that helps support. In particular, the foundation previously borrowed $2 million in GHO Stablecoins via the Aave protocol and used wrap ETH as collateral.
However, not all community responses are negative.
Some members praise the Foundation’s transparency in announcing planned sales ahead of execution, in contrast to organizations that carry out similar transactions without prior notice.
Ethereum Foundation employee Binji defended the sale by contextualizing the scale within a wider market activity. He noted that 10,000 ETH is a relatively small amount compared to 403,800 ETH purchased by the finance company in the same week.
Binji highlighted that foundation sales will ultimately help strengthen the Ethereum network by funding HR and research initiatives that attract more developers and users to the platform, thereby increasing the overall value proposition of the ecosystem.