The Ethereum Foundation has swapped 1,000 ETH (~$4.5 million) for stablecoins to fund grants and research, underscoring its DeFi-focused strategy.
Ethereum Foundation Swaps $4.5 million in ETH for Stablecoins for Grants and DeFi
The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has sold 1,000 ETH (~$4.5 million) via the decentralized protocol CoW Swap, receiving stablecoins to fund grants, research, and donations. This is separate from the larger 10,000 ETH plan announced in September, but demonstrates the same strategy: partially converting reserves into less volatile assets.
Why this matters
CoW Swap choice: EF has used a decentralized liquidity aggregator instead of a centralized exchange, underscoring its fundamental bet on DeFi.
Balance in the treasury: EF explicitly states in its policy that it wants to both maintain profitability and strengthen the DeFi ecosystem.
Priorities: Due to the influx of applications, EF temporarily suspended open grant programs, but promises to focus funding on the “most urgent needs of the network.”
Context: Internal changes
In 2024, EF underwent a restructuring:
- appointed Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz K. Stańczak as co-directors;
- streamlined teams, reducing staff in June;
- is trying to make management more strategic and transparent.
Vitalik on “low-risk DeFi”
Vitalik Buterin recently emphasized that stable and understandable DeFi (payments, savings, fully secured lending) could become for Ethereum what search was for Google — a fundamental business model that sustains the ecosystem.
Conclusion
Even small steps by EF are a signal: the foundation is not just managing a treasury, but demonstrating trust in decentralized infrastructure and trying to set the tone for the entire industry. Converting 1,000 ETH to stablecoins is not a number, but a gesture: Ethereum Foundation puts DeFi at the center of its long-term strategy.
Related: The Ethereum Foundation’s PSE initiative focuses on private transactions and decentralized identity
