As criticism surrounding the Ethereum Foundation continues to grow, blockchain researcher and investor William Mougayar has stepped forward to defend the organization, arguing that many critics fundamentally misunderstand the Foundation’s actual role within the Ethereum ecosystem.
In a post published on X titled “Leave the Foundation Alone,” Mougayar stated that the Ethereum Foundation was never designed to function as a marketing machine for ETH or as an institution-focused growth engine.
Instead, he described the Foundation as a long-term steward of the Ethereum protocol itself.
Ethereum Foundation Is Not Responsible For ETH Price
According to Mougayar, many investors mistakenly treat ETH, Ethereum, and the Ethereum Foundation as if they are the same entity, when in reality they operate on completely different paths.
He explained:
- ETH is the financial asset
- Ethereum is the decentralized computing infrastructure
- The Ethereum Foundation is a non-profit organization focused on maintaining and evolving the protocol
Mougayar argued that confusion between these three areas often leads to unrealistic expectations, poor market assumptions, and misplaced frustration from the crypto community.
He emphasized that the Ethereum Foundation’s primary mission is not to drive speculative price growth, attract institutional investors, or aggressively promote ETH adoption.
Instead, its purpose is to strengthen the protocol itself while gradually reducing the network’s dependence on the Foundation over time.
Ethereum Foundation Focused On Decentralization
Mougayar described the Foundation as being on a “subtraction path,” meaning its long-term objective is to become less central to Ethereum as the network matures.
According to him, the organization continues funding critical research, developing protocol upgrades, and helping strengthen Ethereum’s decentralized infrastructure.
He argued that critics expecting the Ethereum Foundation to actively market ETH misunderstand its role entirely.
Mougayar compared those expectations to asking internet standards organizations to advertise core internet protocols like TCP/IP during the Super Bowl.
In his view, Ethereum’s success depends on the protocol becoming resilient and self-sustaining rather than heavily dependent on centralized leadership or branding efforts.
Ethereum Price Still Under Pressure
At the time of the discussion, ETH was trading around $2,117, posting a daily gain of roughly 4.7%.
However, Ethereum still remains more than 57% below its all-time high near $4,953 recorded in 2024, according to CoinMarketCap data.
The recent criticism toward the Ethereum Foundation has partly intensified due to several large ETH transactions conducted by the organization in recent weeks.
Ethereum Foundation Recently Sold ETH Holdings
Earlier this month, the Ethereum Foundation completed its third over-the-counter ETH sale to BitMine Immersion Technologies.
The transaction involved the sale of 10,000 ETH at an average price of approximately $2,292 per coin, totaling nearly $22.9 million.
Combined with earlier transactions involving 5,000 ETH in March and another 10,000 ETH sold the previous week, the Foundation has reportedly sold around $47 million worth of ETH to BitMine over recent weeks.
The Foundation also recently unstaked significant amounts of Ether.
According to reports, it unstaked:
- 17,035 ETH worth roughly $40 million
- Another 21,270 ETH from Lido worth nearly $50 million
These large movements have sparked speculation and debate across the crypto community, with some investors questioning whether the Foundation’s actions signal concerns about Ethereum’s near-term outlook.
However, supporters like Mougayar argue that the Foundation’s decisions should be viewed through the lens of protocol stewardship and long-term ecosystem sustainability rather than short-term market sentiment.
