The Ethereum Foundation, the non-profit dedicated to supporting the Ethereum blockchain and its ecosystem, allegedly cashed out a huge sum of ETH at the November top. The findings came to light by Edward Morra, a widely-followed cryptocurrency trader, and technical analyst, who dug into the Foundation’s historical account data.
Ethereum Foundation Dumped At The Top
Participants at the Ethereum Foundation seem to be well aware of when they should cash out a portion of their stake before the music stops playing.
Morra observed that the Foundation sold 20,000 Ether on Kraken exchange at the time when the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market value reached a historic peak. ETH set an all-time high of $4,891.26 on November 16, while the Ethereum Foundation dumped its coins the next day.
$ETH
Friendly reminder that ETH foundation cashed out at the top (again). ETH down 40+% since then pic.twitter.com/Bp80hEDvK0— Edward Morra (@edwardmorra_btc)
The cryptocurrency has been on a downward trend since then. It is worth $2,458.92 at the time of publication, a 50% drop in price as the broader crypto market takes a massive hit.
The trader noted this was not the first time representatives at the Foundation skillfully sold their ETH at or near the top while presumably expecting a pullback. For instance, they converted 35,000 ether to fiat currency on May 17 last year right after the cryptocurrency hit its previous peak.
Today, the balance of the Foundation’s main address, EthDev, holds over 353,318 ETH. This amount equals around $832 million based on today’s prices.
But don’t write off Ethereum just yet on account of the sell-off by the Ethereum Foundation. The blockchain is currently the dominant home for some of the hottest cryptocurrency trends, from decentralized finance (DeFi) to non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The network is also set to transition to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism which will not only reduce energy consumption but also improve scalability and dramatically lower gas fees. All these imminent developments will likely help Ethereum maintain the lead as the dominant blockchain for smart contracts.