David Hoffman, co-founder of Bankless, has sold some of his Ethereum holdings, questioning the asset's future valuation while remaining optimistic about the network.
David Hoffman, co-founder of the educational platform Bankless, has announced a reduction in his Ethereum holdings, expressing doubts about the asset's potential for significant revaluation.
I spent the weekend putting my thoughts about $ETH and Ethereum into this article. I built my career, community, and business on Ethereum, so the decision to sell deserves a deeper explanation. Thank you, all—David Hoffman (@TrustlessState) May 26, 2026
While Hoffman maintains a positive view of Ethereum as a network, he has adjusted his investment thesis, arguing that the notion of "ETH as money" has been fully realized, suggesting the market has correctly priced the asset.
Ethereum's Value Redistribution
Hoffman believes that Ethereum will continue to develop as infrastructure, but this growth will not significantly impact the price of its native token. He notes that the network redistributes economic value towards decentralized applications and layer-two solutions rather than accumulating it within the Ethereum asset itself.
He described Ethereum as a network that "gives rather than takes," providing essential security and DeFi tools without claiming a large share of the value generated. Hoffman highlighted that the evaluation of layer-one blockchains should focus on the volume of fees generated.
He pointed out that Ethereum has not sustained its revenue leadership among layer-one networks long enough to spark a new wave of capitalization growth, citing a correlation between fee income and token price, referencing past performance of Ethereum, Solana, and NEAR.
Reevaluating DeFi and Stablecoins
Hoffman has also reevaluated his stance on decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), which he once viewed as the foundation of a fully autonomous financial ecosystem.
He observed that the positive perception of the crypto industry was short-lived, with public sentiment shaped by hacks and speculation outside of the favorable period from late 2020 to early 2022.
Particularly, he noted the rise of stablecoins on the Ethereum network, which surged from $3 billion in 2020 to over $160 billion. However, he believes this growth reinforces "dollar hegemony" rather than establishing Ethereum as an independent monetary asset.
Profit-Taking vs. Ecosystem Abandonment
Hoffman clarified that selling Ethereum does not reflect a negative outlook on the ecosystem. "I remain incredibly optimistic about the Ethereum network and its ecosystem," he stated, emphasizing that he has redirected his capital into other investment opportunities. Currently, he does not foresee any major shifts in the valuation of Ethereum in the near future.
Notably, macro analyst Jordi Visser recently increased his position in Ethereum, referring to the asset as "fuel" for AI agents.
