May ‘26: Ethereum’s Ballmer Era

David Hoffman's essay explaining why he sold all his ETH at $2,070 is the starting point for a May newsletter arguing that Ethereum's bear case is real but not decisive, and that ETH still works as a trade. The author says the bear case resembles Steve Ballmer's Microsoft era, but notes that Microsoft's stock went roughly sideways for over a decade while its enterprise franchise compounded, and argues that ETH's growing staking, ETF and treasury-company holdings can reprice the asset even without fee-driven value capture. The piece also cites the GENIUS Act and a CLARITY Act that cleared Senate Banking on May 14 as signs of regulatory progress, and lists funding rounds including Kalshi's $1B Series F at a $22B valuation.