Bankless|22. Mai
David Sold His ETH...Here's Why
đ Macro Bearishness and Stagflation Fears
- April CPI inflation rose to 3.8% â the highest since 2023. The US 10-year yield hit 4.63% (highest since Feb 2023), the 30-year yield reached 5.16% (highest since 2008).
- Credit card delinquencies hit a 15-year high. The market no longer prices in any Fed rate cuts for 2026.
- A comparison to 1970s inflation shows a worrying pattern: a potential double top (second wave of inflation) driven by oil prices due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade. Brent crude could reach $120â$180/barrel if no peace deal is reached with Iran.
- This creates a rock-and-a-hard-place for the Fed and Treasury: rising debt (>100% GDP) and higher interest payments force money printing â a long-term tailwind for scarce assets like Bitcoin.
- Hyperliquid (HYPE): New ATH at $61.50 (+47% weekly). Driven by Real-World Asset (RWA) volume exceeding 60%, including stocks, commodities, and pre-IPO markets (e.g., SpaceX, OpenAI). Bitwise launched a HYPE ETF, buying 10% of fees into HYPE treasury.
- Zcash (ZEC): +25% weekly â Privacy coins are surging overall (also Railgun, Veil). Zcash is a fork of Bitcoin with built-in zero-knowledge privacy.
- Venice (VVV): New ATH â private AI inference on Base.
- Wintermute launched vaults on Morpho (USDC Prime and Select, target 4-8% APY) â a trend toward professionally managed, regulated DeFi products.
- The SEC hints at an innovation framework for tokenized stocks â a major shift from the Gensler era.
- Blockchain.com filed for IPO. Ronin (gaming L2) completed migration to Ethereum L2 and cut inflation from 20% to under 1%.
- Trump administration invests $2 billion in quantum computing (IBM, chipmakers, startups) â part of an industrial policy strategy (âUSA Inc.â).
- Prominent departures: Tomas (Executive Director), Josh Stark, Trent Van Epps, BarnabĂ© Monnot, Tim Beiko, Alex Stokes, Carl Beek, Julian Ma â all key protocol development figures.
- Reasons:
- The âCROPSâ mandate (Censorship Resistance, Openness, Privacy, Security) â critics see it as a dogmatic focus on protection over growth and adoption.
- Underpayment and lack of incentives (EF holds <0.1% of all ETH).
- Leadership and governance issues; the EF feels too academic and philosophical while concrete progress is lacking.
- Thesis: The EF protects Ethereum from corruption but not from irrelevance. New institutions (e.g., Bitwise, BitMine) must fill the gap in mass adoption.
- David Hofman sold all his ETH â out of frustration over ETH's lack of price appreciation and the EF's priorities (CROPS vs. Growth).
- He remains bullish on Ethereum as a network but is pessimistic about ETH returning as a store of value without new leadership and incentives.
- Ryan Adams is reducing his podcast presence; David will take on more interviews, focusing on **
