A recent 30,098 ETH deposit valued at approximately $56 million into the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Sky has sparked speculation about the Ethereum Foundation’s (EF) involvement.
However, Ethereum developers and industry figures have rejected the claims, asserting that the wallet behind the transaction does not belong to the foundation.
The rumours began on March 10 when crypto analytics platform Arkham labelled the wallet address as potentially linked to the EF. This fueled speculation that the foundation had opted to use DeFi lending instead of directly selling ETH to fund its operations, a strategy previously suggested by the community.
Ethereum developer Eric Conner, co-author of EIP-1559, dismissed the report as “completely fake.” Similarly, The Daily Gwei host Anthony Sassano refuted the claims, emphasizing that the address was unrelated to the EF.
Chinese crypto news outlet Wu Blockchain initially fueled speculation about a wallet linked to the Ethereum Foundation (EF). However, they later clarified that while the wallet did receive funds from an EF ETH sale in May 2022, it is more likely associated with an early Ethereum investor. The wallet subsequently deposited $56 million into Sky to prevent liquidation during a significant drop in ETH’s price, effectively lowering its liquidation threshold to $1,127.14 and protecting against further market volatility.
Although this particular transaction had no ties to the Ethereum Foundation, the organization has previously drawn criticism for selling ETH to cover operational costs. In January, community members proposed an alternative: instead of selling ETH, the foundation could use DeFi platforms to borrow stablecoins against its holdings.
The EF took heed of this advice. On February 13, it allocated 45,000 ETH—worth around $120 million—to lending protocols Aave, Spark, and Compound. The move was widely applauded, with Aave founder Stani Kulechov declaring, “DeFi will win.” The foundation also hinted at further engagement with DeFi, suggesting more such initiatives could follow.
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