Site language
Ru En
Социальные сети

forklog.media The End of ‘Ultrasound Money’: Why Ethereum Is Losing Developers and Whale Support

Against a backdrop of prolonged rangebound price action in Ethereum, market participants have shifted from upcoming network upgrades to the ecosystem’s “problems.” Even as ETH’s share in staking hits records, a split is emerging inside the project: over the past year, more than eight senior developers have left the Ethereum Foundation (EF). This ForkLog report examines a systemic crisis simultaneously affecting EF’s tokenomics, governance and staffing — and asks how the clash between institutional views of the second-largest cryptocurrency, Vitalik Buterin’s uncompromising stance, and early ICO investors’ ETH sales are connected. Decentralization or a budget crisis? For the tenth straight month, Ethereum has underperformed bitcoin. At press time, the ETH/BTC pair fell to about 0.026 BTC. In dollar terms, the second-largest cryptocurrency was 68% below its all-time high ($4889) set in August 2025, trading around $1600. ETH/USD daily chart on Binance. (11.06.2026). Source: TradingView. With short-term trading interest waning, long-term investors increasingly view the coin as a yield instrument. According to Dune, as of June 11, 2026, ETH locked in staking reached an ATH of 39.51 million, equal to 31.71% of circulating supply. Source: Dune/hildobby. Ethereum is undergoing a deep identity and economic crisis: activity has migrated to L2 networks, depriving the base chain of most fee revenue. Amid price stagnation and growing investor frustration, internal governance strains have also intensified. One trigger for the current turbulence has been unprecedented turnover at EF. In November 2025, developer Peter Szilágyi left the project. He argued that people involved in EF’s day-to-day work were underpaid and said Vitalik Buterin single-handedly sets the ecosystem’s direction. In 2026, a management restructuring began. Tomasz Stanczak explained his decision by a desire to return to hands-on engineering — in particular, building agentic AI systems. April brought operational losses. Veteran Josh Stark — a seven-year EF contributor who led the Trillion Dollar Security initiative — and Trent Van Epps both announced their departures. Van Epps stayed within the Protocol Guild ecosystem. The dynamics in May were especially telling as core consensus architects began to leave. On May 19, 2026, resignation came from Carl Beekhuizen, a seven-year veteran who helped launch the Beacon Chain. He diplomatically cited wanting to spend time with his newborn. But the community noted the context: EF was also left by Julian Ma, who spent four years on the FOCIL project focused on anti-censorship protections. The simultaneous exit of specialists responsible for the network’s fundamental architecture was a clear market signal of internal discord. An ideological break also underlies the reshuffle. On March 13, 2026, EF published a programmatic document, The Promise of Ethereum: Introducing the EF Mandate, setting four priorities: censorship resistance, openness, privacy and security. Rumors have circulated that some employees were told to sign the document or leave, according to reports. Behind the scenes, the situation is linked not only to generational change but also to financial pressure. To offset operating costs without spooking the market with constant asset sales, leadership took an unprecedented step. In March 2026, the Ethereum Foundation said it had staked an initial 72,000 ETH via a DVT‑lite setup. Evangelists capitulate and the death of the deflationary model In 2026, analysts observed an accelerating pace of transfers by ICO‑era whales and large holders. In several cases, transactions were followed by steady or accelerated selling: In April, one whale sold 11,552 ETH (about $23.4 million), deploying the USDC proceeds on Aave at a fixed rate; That month, an old address moved 10,000 ETH (about $22.88 million) to a new wallet after nearly 11 years of inactivity — a classic setup for an OTC deal or gradual distribution via market makers, analysts said; In May, an address with an 11‑year history progressively sent more than 12,000 ETH to OKX, using a multisig structure for gradual distribution; In mid‑June, a Genesis‑block participant transferred 3,000 ETH to Kraken; At month‑end, a “sleeping” wallet moved 2,000 ETH (over $4.2 million) after 10 years of dormancy. Sales by investors with a $0.31 cost basis send a worrying signal: in today’s macro uncertainty and crypto‑market pressure, ETH’s potential for explosive upside may be exhausted. To see why the largest ETH holders are exiting, it helps to understand how Ethereum’s key technological win became its economic problem. The turning point was March 2024 — the Dencun upgrade and activation of EIP-4844. The protocol gave rollups a cheap way to post data to L1 via BLOB transactions, cutting costs by 10–100x. Activity surged to L2, and the base layer lost its primary fee source. After the next Pectra upgrade in May 2025, the average daily burn fell to 3.26 ETH, down 71% year over year. The EIP-1559 mechanism — the basis of the “ultrasound money” narrative — stopped working. According to Token Terminal, early 2025 saw daily network fee revenue near $40 million before stagnating to a 2026 local low around ~$10 million. Source: Token Terminal. As a result, Ethereum shifted into mild inflation. According to Ultrasound Money, annual ETH supply growth stood around 0.82% at press time. Source: Ultrasound Money. At a moment of obvious strain, Vitalik Buterin did what investors least expected — he offered an intellectual rationale. On February 3, 2026, he said the idea of rollups as “branded shards” of Ethereum “no longer makes sense.” In effect, the network’s co‑founder abandoned the notion that a growing rollup economy would automatically accrue value to the base token. Instead, Buterin suggested viewing L2 as a broad “spectrum” of networks with varying degrees of attachment to Ethereum security — from fully inherited to largely nominal. For investors whose thesis was “the more L2s, the higher ETH,” it sounded like an official verdict. The broken narrative was epitomized by David Hoffman — Bankless co‑founder and arguably Ethereum’s leading evangelist in recent years. On May 26, he published the essay Why I Sold My ETH, which went viral. He argued the “ETH is money” thesis did play out — just not at the scale its supporters expected: “Ethereum technically won, but the market is no longer willing to aggressively reprice ETH as a monetary asset.” Hoffman pointed to the core contradiction: the network deliberately chose the hardest path — open ecosystems, decentralization, L2‑based scaling and building infrastructure as a public good. That choice made Ethereum the foundation for stablecoins, DeFi and RWA, while letting much of the economic value leak past the base token. He added he remains “extremely optimistic” about Ethereum as a technology and expects it to advance. Former EF researcher Dankrad Feist also weighed in, proposing a new organization to “save” Ethereum with $1 billion in seed funding. He recommended forming a board of people who “want ETH to grow” and appointing “a competent leader who wants to fight.” On June 7, Ethereum co‑founder and Consensys CEO Joseph Lubin said in an interview with CoinDesk that criticism of EF stems from a misunderstanding of the foundation’s role. In his view, the organization should remain neutral toward the ecosystem and avoid mixing protocol development with commercial goals, and the current reorganization is not a sign of crisis. A zero-sum conflict Staff turnover at EF, broken tokenomics and a quiet exit by ICO whales can be read as different ailments sharing a single diagnosis: Ethereum is guided by someone with a fundamentally different definition of “success” and of what money is. Criticism of Buterin as the focal point of key decisions is not new. It took a concrete form in accusations made by Ethereum and Cardano co‑founder Charles Hoskinson. In September 2024, he argued that blockchains must either remain forever simple like Bitcoin or “choose a king.” In his view, Ethereum did the latter. “Everyone looks to him for a roadmap and inspiration. He’s the only person powerful enough to rally people. If you remove him from the equation, what would the next hard fork look like, and how quickly could they ship it?” Hoskinson asked. To assess how fair these “dictatorship” claims are, it helps to see how decisions are made in practice. Formally, the process is open: any protocol change moves through the EIP mechanism. Final inclusion in an upgrade is coordinated in regular calls where representatives of independent client teams reach technical consensus. Buterin has no veto. Yet his social posts effectively shape which research directions become priorities, and support or criticism of a given EIP is a signal client teams cannot ignore given his authority and reasoning. The clearest example of how that power works in reality — and the sharpest point of conflict with institutional capital — is FOCIL. In February, during one of the last meetings chaired by Alex Stokes, FOCIL was officially added to the roadmap for the upcoming Hegota upgrade slated for H2 2026. EIP‑7805 requires validators to include all valid transactions — including those touching addresses sanctioned by OFAC. If a proposed block ignores them, the chain automatically splits away from it. For crypto exchanges seeking regulatory cleanliness, and for institutional validators, that is a direct challenge. In response to criticism, Buterin wrote he is building “Ethereum on cypherpunk principles, without compromises.” This exposes the core ideological clash. Venture funds and institutional capital focus on quarterly metrics — token price, burn volume, L1 competitiveness by TPS. Buterin operates in a different register, where ETH’s price is a byproduct and the goal is creating a public good. Ethereum’s problems make more sense if you accept that Buterin’s mindset is a constant he will not trade for shifting economic cycles, even at the expense of the token’s price. It is an unpopular stance with little mass appeal, yet it is the cornerstone without which the No. 2 cryptocurrency would not exist. There is no clean win in this standoff. At this stage, Ethereum cannot satisfy both sides at once: a network architecture built for neutrality and censorship resistance is structurally incompatible with institutional demands. That is not a management failure but a deliberate choice made once and defended ever since. Retail outflows and whale profit‑taking are the fee the ecosystem pays for attempting to build a settlement layer that can outlive its creators.

news.bitcoin.com CLARITY Act Gets New Push as Senator Ties Crypto Rules to US Dollar Power

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott renewed support for the CLARITY Act as he tied stablecoins to U.S. dollar strength. His comments put crypto market rules, consumer protection, and AI oversight at the center of the Senate Banking Committee’s financial policy agenda. Scott Links CLARITY Act Push to USD Dominance and Crypto Rules Senate Banking […]

cryptobriefing.com Justice Department approves Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery in $110B mega-merger

The merger's approval signals a shift towards greater media consolidation, potentially reshaping industry dynamics and competitive landscapes. The post Justice Department approves Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery in $110B mega-merger appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

cryptobriefing.com Jason Yanowitz: Transparency and trust are vital for crypto growth, tokenization is reshaping financial markets, and regulation is necessary for industry maturity | Bell Curve

Tokenizing assets could revolutionize financial markets by bringing infrastructure on-chain and enhancing transparency. The post Jason Yanowitz: Transparency and trust are vital for crypto growth, tokenization is reshaping financial markets, and regulation is necessary for industry maturity | Bell Curve appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

news.bitcoin.com SpaceX Hits $2.1T on Debut Day, Making Elon Musk the World’s First Trillionaire

SpaceX priced the largest IPO in history Thursday night and spent Friday proving investors meant it. Record Raise, Record Wealth The company priced 555.56 million shares at $135 apiece on June 11, pulling in $75 billion in a primary offering that more than doubled Saudi Aramco’s 2019 raise. When the stock opened at $150 on […]

blockonomi.com Blockworks Acquires Messari for $10M to Build Crypto’s Unified Data and Intelligence Platform

TLDR: Blockworks acquired Messari for over $10M, merging crypto’s two largest data and analytics platforms. Messari covers 40,000+ crypto assets and operates one of the most powerful APIs in the industry. The deal targets both onchain asset issuers and institutional underwriters with a unified data layer. Blockworks aims to build a full system of record [...] The post Blockworks Acquires Messari for $10M to Build Crypto’s Unified Data and Intelligence Platform appeared first on Blockonomi.

cryptobriefing.com Iran team chief criticizes FIFA for visa coordination failures ahead of World Cup matches in the US

Visa issues highlight the tension between global event hosting and immigration policies, impacting team logistics and international participation. The post Iran team chief criticizes FIFA for visa coordination failures ahead of World Cup matches in the US appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

cryptobriefing.com SpaceX shares surge 19% in debut after blockbuster IPO, sending shockwaves through crypto markets

SpaceX's IPO success highlights a shift in investment focus, potentially diverting capital from crypto markets and impacting digital asset liquidity. The post SpaceX shares surge 19% in debut after blockbuster IPO, sending shockwaves through crypto markets appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

bitcoinmagazine.com Standard Chartered Calls Crypto Bottom as Bitcoin Price Recovers From $59,000 Low

Bitcoin Magazine Standard Chartered Calls Crypto Bottom as Bitcoin Price Recovers From $59,000 Low Standard Chartered says crypto's cycle low is likely in, arguing that Bitcoin's drop to roughly $59,000 marked the bottom and that easing IPO-related selling pressure, improving macro conditions, and renewed institutional demand could pave the way toward its $100,000 year-end target. This post Standard Chartered Calls Crypto Bottom as Bitcoin Price Recovers From $59,000 Low first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

news.bitcoin.com SurgeXRP Presale Accelerates Following XRP Upgrade News, 30% of Soft Cap Filled Before RWA Platform Debut

PRESS RELEASE. The XRP ecosystem is heating up once again as the latest XRP Ledger upgrade designed to improve network performance, scalability, and efficiency and investors are increasingly looking beyond XRP itself and toward the next generation of projects being built on XRPL. One project attracting significant attention is SurgeXRP. Its ongoing $SGP presale has […]

cryptobriefing.com Traders turn most optimistic on US dollar in over a year as Middle East tensions fuel safe-haven demand

The dollar's rise amid Middle East tensions could tighten global financial conditions, impacting emerging markets and US multinationals. The post Traders turn most optimistic on US dollar in over a year as Middle East tensions fuel safe-haven demand appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

cryptobriefing.com Gideon Levy: Israel’s military actions lack purpose, political motivations drive wars, and US support may wane in the coming years | Tucker Carlson

US-Israel relations face a critical turning point as potential policy shifts threaten longstanding support. The post Gideon Levy: Israel’s military actions lack purpose, political motivations drive wars, and US support may wane in the coming years | Tucker Carlson appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

blockonomi.com XRP Whales Pull 465M From Binance as Price Tests Key Support

TLDR: Binance recorded 465M XRP in large outflows between June 3 and June 11, 2026. Withdrawals exceeding 1M XRP have grown more frequent since early June this year. XRP entered a key support zone near $0.70-$0.90 after dropping to $1.04 in June. Weekly resistance near $1.45-$1.78 must be reclaimed for a bullish reversal signal. XRP [...] The post XRP Whales Pull 465M From Binance as Price Tests Key Support appeared first on Blockonomi.

news.bitcoin.com Metaplanet to Launch Bitcoin Yield Products in Japan After $13 Million Siiibo Securities Deal

Metaplanet has agreed to acquire Siiibo Securities, a licensed Japanese Type I securities firm, as part of its Project Nova strategy. The deal gives the company a regulated distribution platform for bitcoin-linked yield products aimed at Japan’s large pool of cash-heavy household assets. Metaplanet Targets Japan’s $7.4 Trillion Cash Pile With Bitcoin-Linked Investments Metaplanet is […]

cryptobriefing.com Lionel Messi poses in Argentina jersey for 2026 World Cup photoshoot, reigniting fan token speculation

Messi's involvement in the 2026 World Cup photoshoot could boost fan token trading, highlighting the intersection of sports and digital assets. The post Lionel Messi poses in Argentina jersey for 2026 World Cup photoshoot, reigniting fan token speculation appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

bitcoinmagazine.com Blockworks Acquires Messari in Deal Highlighting Crypto’s Data Consolidation Race

Bitcoin Magazine Blockworks Acquires Messari in Deal Highlighting Crypto’s Data Consolidation Race Blockworks' acquisition of Messari for just over $10 million combines two major crypto data platforms. This post Blockworks Acquires Messari in Deal Highlighting Crypto’s Data Consolidation Race first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

news.bitcoin.com Bitcoin Climbs to $64,349 After Trump Signals Iran Deal Despite Tehran Pushback

Bitcoin briefly breached $64,000 following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a tentative peace deal between Washington and Tehran. Bitcoin Eyed $64K Amid Geopolitical Whiplash On June 12, bitcoin breached the $64,000 mark as enthusiasm was sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that Washington and Tehran had reached a deal to end hostilities. Market […]

cryptobriefing.com US government proposes nuclear dismantling agreement with Iran, and crypto markets are paying attention

The proposed nuclear deal could reshape geopolitical dynamics, impacting global oil markets and influencing cryptocurrency volatility. The post US government proposes nuclear dismantling agreement with Iran, and crypto markets are paying attention appeared first on Crypto Briefing.