David Hoffman, co-founder of Bankless, revealed in a May 29 interview with Unchained that he has sold his entire ETH position — not out of bearishness on Ethereum's technology, but because he sees better risk-adjusted opportunities elsewhere.
Hoffman was careful to distance himself from the "defector" label, framing the exit as a capital allocation decision rather than a vote of no confidence. Still, the admission carries weight: Bankless was built on the thesis of Ether as money, and its co-founder no longer finds that thesis compelling enough to hold.
Why it matters
Hoffman's core critique is structural. He argues that ETH is difficult to re-rate — meaning the market has already priced in most of the narrative upside — and that Ethereum lacks the coordination and execution needed to recapture its unique momentum. Coming from one of the ecosystem's most prominent advocates, that framing is a signal worth taking seriously, regardless of whether one agrees with the conclusion.
Market impact
For ETH holders, the story raises a pointed question about opportunity cost in a cycle where competing L1s and emerging asset categories are drawing institutional and retail attention alike. Hoffman's exit doesn't move the price, but it does move the narrative — and in crypto, narrative is often the leading indicator.
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