Did the Ethereum Foundation Just Sell $12.8M in ETH?

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Rumors of a $12.8 million Ethereum dump have been shut down by the Ethereum Foundation and the team says the wallet behind the sale isn’t theirs anymore.

But let’s take a step back.

The speculation began after on-chain tracker LookOnChain reported that a wallet linked to the Foundation sold 2,975 ETH in two quick transactions. The sales, worth around $12.8 million, drew attention because the wallet had received 20,756 ETH from a Foundation address back in 2017.

Understandably this got the crypto community talking. But what’s the truth?

“Not Our Operation”

Ethereum Foundation co-Executive Director Hsiao-Wei Wang moved quickly to address the claims on X.

“It was not the Ethereum Foundation’s operation,” she said. Wang added that during Ethereum’s 2014 ICO, the Foundation held about 9% of the total ETH supply. Today, that figure is under 0.3%.

She also pointed out that plenty of old addresses from ICO days are still active but are no longer controlled by the Foundation. “You can probably find tons of addresses linked to EF after ten years,” she wrote.

A Familiar Pattern for EF Watchers

The denial didn’t convince everyone. Some in the community argued that the Foundation’s history of large ETH sales makes any big movement from EF-linked wallets suspicious.

For years, the Foundation has sold portions of its ETH holdings, which has often sparked debate about timing, market impact, and transparency.

Ethereum Moves Into Corporate Vaults

The timing of this dust-up is interesting. In July, the Foundation sold around 10,000 ETH directly to publicly traded company SharpLink Gaming, which is now the second-largest corporate ETH holder.

This sale is part of a wider trend. If you’ve been following the headlines, corporate ETH treasuries are now around $14 billion. More and more of Ethereum’s supply is moving into the hands of public companies, shifting where the power and influence over large ETH reserves sits.

Leading the pack is BitMine Immersion, now the largest corporate Ethereum holder with nearly $5 billion in ETH and an ambitious goal to control and stake 5% of the total Ether supply, worth about $22 billion at today’s prices.

Vitalik’s Warning

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has flagged this trend as a double-edged sword. 

On one hand, corporate ownership can help bring Ethereum to mainstream investors. On the other, overleveraging by these companies could create a domino effect of forced sell-offs in a market downturn, adding volatility and shaking confidence in the network.

ETH Nears Record

Meanwhile, ETH is trading at $4,748 – up about 27% over the last 7 days and just 2.94% lesser than its all-time high. Standard Chartered now sees the rally extending much further, projecting $7,500 by the end of 2025 and a staggering $25,000 by 2028.

Whether the latest wallet sale came from EF or not, it’s a reminder that the crypto community is always watching and no activity will go unnoticed!