- The Ethereum Foundation is at risk of a potential $900 million liquidation due to a significant amount of ETH locked in a MakerDAO vault as collateral.
- A decline below the $1,100 level could trigger an automatic liquidation of the locked assets and potentially impact the foundation’s financial position.
The Ethereum Foundation (EF), the non-profit organization supporting the Ethereum ecosystem is reportedly facing a financial risk due to a substantial amount of Ethereum (ETH) locked in a MakerDAO vault, resulting in a debt of approximately 78 million DAI, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar.
MakerDAO is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that enables users to borrow DAI by collateralizing their cryptocurrency assets, primarily ETH. Users deposit ETH into MakerDAO’s smart contracts, creating collateralized debt positions (CDPs), now referred to as vaults. The deposited ETH acts as collateral, allowing users to generate DAI loans against it.
To maintain system stability, MakerDAO requires that the value of the collateral exceeds the borrowed DAI, enforcing a collateralization ratio. If the value of the collateral falls below this ratio due to a decline in ETH’s price, the system automatically liquidates the collateral to repay the debt, ensuring DAI’s stability.
Potential Liquidation Scenario at $1,100 ETH
Speculation about a possible Ethereum Foundation liquidation intensified following a 30,098 ETH deposit into a Maker vault by a wallet suspected to belong to the foundation. This wallet currently holds 100,394.447 ETH as collateral, with an outstanding debt of 78,035,224.7182 DAI and a liquidation price set at $1,127.065. Despite growing speculation and community concerns, neither the Ethereum Foundation nor its co-founders have publicly addressed the liquidation risks associated with their MakerDAO vault.
Blockchain researcher Rasmr highlighted the potential severity of this situation, stating, “The Ethereum Foundation getting liquidated at $1,100 will be this year’s FTX moment.” However, in a follow-up post, the researcher added,
It’s fun to joke about the Ethereum Foundation getting liquidated, but let’s be honest, if they get close, they’ll just add collateral.
Currently, Ethereum has dropped 10.30% in the last 24 hours, trading at $1,900. This marks the first time ETH has dropped below the $2,000 threshold since 2023. Meanwhile, ETH’s 24-hour trading volume has risen by 4.08%, reaching $39 billion.
The Ethereum Foundation holds a significant amount of ETH in its treasury. As of October 31, 2024, its reserves were valued at $970.2 million, marking a 39% drop from $1.6 billion on March 31, 2022. With 81.3% of its assets in ETH, any downturn in price could pose financial risks, though the foundation retains the option to mitigate potential liquidation by adding collateral.
The foundation allocated approximately $240 million to ecosystem development, research, and other initiatives between 2022 and 2023.
Amid these financial concerns, CNF recently reported that the Ethereum Foundation has announced the appointment of Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz Stańczak as co-Executive Directors, effective March 17, 2025. Their leadership is expected to reinforce the foundation’s core principles and play a pivotal role in shaping Ethereum’s future.
