Ethereum Foundation offloads 450 ETH in latest sale

The Ethereum Foundation continued its ETH sales streak this year, most recently selling 450 ETH for 1.029 million DAI.

The Ethereum Foundation, the main nonprofit supporting the Ethereum blockchain, lost 450 ETH of its assets on September 9 and replaced them with stablecoin DAI, according to analytics platform SpotOnChain.

This transaction follows the sale of 100 ETH for 241,000 DAI on September 5, bringing the Foundation’s total sales for 2024 to 3066 ETH.

Additionally, on September 6, the Foundation transferred an additional 1,000 ETH worth $2.38 million to another multi-signature wallet, which is likely to be exchanged for stablecoins. This was followed by another transaction of 1,000 ETH the following day.

The Ethereum Foundation has accumulated around 8.66 million DAI so far this year, while it holds 274,012 ETH worth around $637 million across seven wallets.

Last month, wallets connected to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin transferred a total of 3,800 ETH (worth around $9.99 million) to a multi-signature wallet: 3,000 ETH on August 9 and another 800 ETH on August 30. Since then, 760 ETH from the receiving wallet have been sold for 1.835 million USDC at an average of $2,414 per ETH.

These transfers led to allegations that Buterin was selling ETH for profit, but Buterin recently denied these claims, stating that the funds were used to support ecosystem development and philanthropic efforts.

Insiders offer explanation

While the Ethereum Foundation has not officially commented on the recent ETH sales, insiders have stated that these transactions are in line with the foundation’s standard financial strategy.

Ethereum Foundation executive director Aya Miyaguchi previously explained that the foundation’s annual budget of around $100 million is primarily used for operational costs, grants, and salaries—expenditures that typically require fiat. The foundation strategically converts some of its ETH holdings into stablecoins like DAI to meet these needs.

“There will be planned and gradual sales,” Miyaguchi said at the time.

Meanwhile, Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake revealed that the foundation will soon release a financial report, which is expected to provide more information about the recent sales.

The price of ETH has felt the pressure from the recent sell-off, with the flagship altcoin currently down 11.9% in the last 30 days. Many fear that this sell-off could trigger further price declines.