Brains Not Working? Ethereum Foundation Under Fire For Repeated ETH Sell-Offs

Ethereum is off to a rocky start this 2025, and its vibrant dev community isn’t happy. According to reports, the Ethereum Foundation has recently moved a substantial amount of Ether. The foundation’s transactions to move and sell its tokens became messier when one of its employees attempted to explain the situation, generating a lot of backlash.

Ethereum’s recent transactions have occurred since Bitcoin and other top tokens have been ripping through the charts. Price-wise, Ethereum is trading between $3,200 and $3,384, which is too far from 2021’s high of $4,870.

What’s Up, Ethereum Foundation?

The Ethereum Foundation, the primary organization supporting the development of the blockchain, is not helping the cause. Regardless of its intention or the overriding objectives for unloading massive ETH tranches, these moves still leave a bad taste in the mouths of most holders and supporters.

According to a recent post by Spot On Chain on Twitter/X, the foundation has recently moved another 100 ETH in exchange for 336,475 DAI. According to the account, the foundation sold 200 ETH tokens for $67k in the first few days of 2025 at an average cost of $3,361. The account added that ETH is 31% below its 2021 high of $4,878, while Bitcoin continues to retest its highs and currently breached the $109k level.

[ATTENTION] The Ethereum Foundation just sold another 100 $ETH for 336,475 $DAI!

In total, they have sold 200 $ETH ($672K) in 2025 at an average price of $3,361 over the past 12 days.$ETH remains 31% below its 2021 ATH of $4,878, while $BTC has hit a new ATH of $109K today!… https://t.co/9CWWVsrfhj pic.twitter.com/ZOr504i1HG

— Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) January 20, 2025

Ether Supporter’s Comments Draw Negative Feedback

The foundation’s latest transaction, the sale of 100 tokens, came after Josh Stark’s comments came to light. Stark, a popular ETH supporter, defended the foundation’s decision to sell these ETH tokens, arguing that they’re still actively using the blockchain’s native token.

the EF uses Ethereum all the time, for instance to (1) swap ETH for stables (usually @CoWSwap) and (2) to pay people (grantees, team members) in stables and ETH, on mainnet and L2s. Events we run (like Devcon and Devconnect) take onchain payments and use onchain ID for tickets.

— Josh Stark (@0xstark) January 20, 2025

In a Twitter/X posting, Stark explained that the foundation uses its tokens every time. These tokens buy stablecoins, pay their people in stablecoins, and support the blockchain’s events.

Stark’s comments didn’t sit well with some crypto observers and commentators. Twitter/X user WazzCrypto hit Stark for using ETH “dump” as an explanation to support the foundation’s transactions. User @VelvetMilkman was disappointed with Stark, arguing that it’s a lame excuse for using the altcoins.

Meanwhile, X user Trading_Axe has a more scathing, and no holds barred take on the issue:

Their brains actually do not work at all.

The fuck you need 300K for so urgently?

What could you POSSIBLY, as the ETHEREUM FOUNDATION, when the entire world is watching, need 300K OF A PUBLIC SELL ORDER for?

Mindless cockroaches.

Retar Dio.

— ً (@trading_axe) January 20, 2025

Many critics say Ethereum is losing ground against other blockchains, particularly Solana. As such, many recommend that Ethereum stake its tokens instead of selling them to generate yields. The increasing number of comments and criticisms against the foundation has caught the attention of Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s co-founder.

Buterin said the team has also explored many options, including staking their tokens. However, regulatory issues and potential problems with the hard fork prevented them from doing so. Although there’s a friendly regulatory environment right now, the risks associated with staking remain high.

Featured image from ETF Stream, chart from TradingView