Culper Research Discloses ETH Short Position, Alleges Fusaka Upgrade Weakened Ethereum Tokenomics and Enabled Dust Attacks

Short seller Culper Research recently disclosed significant short positions in ETH and ETH-related stocks, including Bitmine (BMNR), according to an Odaily Planet Daily report. The firm alleges that Ethereum's December 2025 Fusaka upgrade severely weakened the network's tokenomics and facilitated widespread 'dust attacks.' Culper Research claims the upgrade led to a gas limit increase from 45M to 60M and a drastic 90% reduction in gas fees, far exceeding the 10-30% decline anticipated by the protocol team. Onchain data from January 2025 to February 2026 purportedly shows that post-upgrade growth in active addresses and transactions largely stems from malicious activities like dust addresses and address poisoning. The report also controversially claimed Vitalik Buterin was aware of these issues and selling ETH, a statement refuted by his father, Dmitry Buterin (dima.eth), who suggested the authors sought attention over research.