Ethereum Foundation cleared of involvement in $56M Sky deposit

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has been confirmed as unrelated to a recent deposit of 30,098 Ether (CRYPTO:ETH), worth approximately $56 million, into the decentralised finance (DeFi) protocol Sky, formerly known as MakerDAO.

The transaction, which occurred on March 10, initially sparked speculation within the crypto community after Arkham Intelligence labeled the wallet as “Ethereum Foundation?”

However, developers and community members quickly refuted these claims.

Eric Conner, co-author of Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP-1559), called reports linking the wallet to the EF “completely fake.”

Similarly, Anthony Sassano, host of The Daily Gwei, dismissed the speculation, emphasising that the wallet does not belong to the Ethereum Foundation.

Wu Blockchain later clarified that while the account was suspected to be EF-related, transaction history suggested it was more likely tied to an early Ethereum investor.

The wallet in question reportedly received funding from jonny.eth and had previously interacted with EF-related wallets during Ethereum’s early development phases.

On March 10, as Ether prices fell sharply from $2,138 to $1,813—a 15% drop—the wallet deposited funds into Sky to avoid liquidation.

This move reduced its liquidation price to $1,127.14, significantly below Ether's current market value of $1,896.

Despite the clarification regarding this deposit, the Ethereum Foundation has faced criticism in the past for selling Ether to fund operations.

In response to community suggestions earlier this year, EF deployed 45,000 ETH—valued at $120 million at the time—into DeFi protocols like Aave (CRYPTO:AAVE), Spark (CRYPTO:SPK), and Compound (CRYPTO:COMP) instead of selling assets outright.

This strategy allowed EF to borrow stablecoins against its holdings while preserving its Ether reserves.

Community members welcomed this shift in approach.

Aave founder Stani Kulechov remarked that such moves signify DeFi’s growing relevance in financial ecosystems.

The foundation has indicated plans for further engagement with DeFi protocols in the future. 

At the time of reporting, the Ethereum (ETH) price was $1,908.80.