David Hoffman Rotates Into ZEC, HYPE, VVV And NEAR

Steady attention without excessive speculation.

Hoffman, known on X as @TrustlessState, shared the breakdown on June 3 at 10:43 GMT. He had announced the full exit on May 20, and the sale executed around May 21. He did not disclose how much ETH he sold.

How David Hoffman Split the ETH Proceeds

Hoffman said he moved roughly half the proceeds straight into four tokens. Those were VVV, NEAR, ZEC, and HYPE. He then used the other half to dollar-cost average into a fifth token, LIT.

“After selling $ETH, I immediately took ~50% of the capital to VVV, NEAR, ZEC, HYPE,” Hoffman wrote. He added that he kept the rest “to DCA into something not already up multiples.” He also confirmed, “I’ve finished buying $LIT with that remaining 50%.”

He singled out NEAR as the exception among his picks. According to Hoffman, NEAR traded near $1.40 at the time and had not already run up multiples like the others. So the basket spans assets he sees as early and assets he calls continuing winners.

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Why David Hoffman Sold ETH

The reasoning sits in a Bankless explainer published around June 1. In it, Hoffman argues the “ETH is money” thesis “didn’t fail,” it simply “played out.” He says he does not see ETH being rerated higher or lower from here as an asset.

The timing is notable on its own. ETH traded in a roughly $1,800 to $2,100 range through the exit window, amid broader market weakness. Several of his new picks had already outperformed ETH over the same stretch.

Still, he insists the move is not a bearish call. “I didn’t sell my ETH because I am bearish, rather simply because I see better opportunities elsewhere,” he wrote. He added that he remains “massively bullish” on Ethereum as a network.

That distinction matters because of who Hoffman is. He built Bankless with Ryan Sean Adams and spent years promoting Ethereum and the “ultrasound money” narrative. So a full personal exit from ETH reads as a notable shift, even with the network-bullish caveat.

A Closer Look at the Five Tokens

The picks cluster around three 2026 themes: privacy, AI, and high-speed trading. VVV is the staking token for Venice, a privacy-focused generative AI platform on Base. Users stake VVV for inference capacity instead of paying per use. NEAR powers NEAR Protocol, a Layer-1 built around AI agents and cross-chain intents.

ZEC is the native asset of Zcash, a privacy Layer-1 that uses zero-knowledge proofs for shielded payments. HYPE is the token of Hyperliquid, an L1 built for on-chain perpetual futures and spot trading. Both lean into themes that ran hard while ETH stalled.

LIT, the half he dollar-cost averaged into, is the token for Lighter. Lighter is a ZK-rollup perpetuals exchange on Ethereum, and its revenue funds token buybacks. In short, the basket holds two privacy bets, one AI agent bet, and two perpetuals bets.

How the Crypto Community Reacted

The response on Crypto Twitter leaned mixed to negative. Many ETH holders framed the rotation as “capitulation” and “the end of an era.” Ryan Sean Adams, Hoffman’s own co-founder, reportedly replied, “wow, sad. end of an era.”

Critics accused Hoffman of short-term trading after years of advocacy. Some also questioned the ZEC and HYPE narratives. Other traders were more positive and praised the specific picks.

Hoffman did not walk anything back. Instead, he defended the technology behind each asset. As of now, he has issued no denials and no correction to the framing.

What the Disclosure Does Not Show

Several details remain unverified. Hoffman never shared a wallet address, so no public Etherscan or Solscan transactions are tied to him. Wu Blockchain and others noted the May 21 sale timing, yet provided no wallet or transaction hashes.

The numbers are also incomplete. Hoffman disclosed the rough 50/50 split and the five assets. He did not reveal the ETH amount, the sale price, or the total dollars rotated.

Independent coverage is thin too. As of June 4, major outlets like CoinDesk and The Block had not published original reporting. Aggregators and reposts mostly repeated his X post word for word.

What Comes Next for David Hoffman’s Portfolio

For now, the trade stands as a clear statement from a longtime Ethereum bull. David Hoffman sells ETH at a moment when several altcoins are outpacing it. He is betting that privacy, AI, and perpetuals offer better upside than the asset he championed.

Whether the rotation pays off will depend on tokens that are far more volatile than ETH. Readers can track Hoffman’s commentary on his X account and the full rationale on Bankless. None of this is financial advice, and high-conviction calls from public figures still carry real risk.