Vitalik Buterin dispels sell-off allegations, says he’s ‘donating’

by

As a seasoned analyst with years of experience in the cryptocurrency market, I find Vitalik Buterin’s actions to be commendable and reflective of his strong commitment to the Ethereum ecosystem and charitable causes. His decision to sell a portion of his ETH holdings to support various projects aligns with his philosophy of promoting decentralization and fostering innovation in the blockchain space.

On Saturday, Vitalik Buterin, one of the founders of Ethereum, responded to critics by explaining that he did not sell any Ether (ETH) he obtained since 2018.

In a post on X.com dated August 31st, Buterin stated that all sales made by him have been directed towards projects he considers worthwhile, these projects could be within the Ethereum network or for charitable causes at large.

Buterin cited biomedical research and development as an example. See below.

As a researcher, I’ve been reinvesting all my earnings from sales since 2018. These sales have been instrumental in funding diverse projects that resonate with me, ranging from those within the Ethereum ecosystem to broader initiatives like biomedical research and development, which I consider significant for our collective future.

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) August 31, 2024

Buterin addresses accusations

More recently, Vitalik Buterin moved about 800 Ether (equivalent to around $2.01 million) into a multisignature wallet. This wallet then converted 190 Ether into approximately 477,000 USD Coin, a stablecoin that maintains its value relative to the U.S. dollar.

1. People in the cryptocurrency community became intrigued by the activity; others speculated that Buterin might be selling off his Ethereum.

The way @VitalikButerin is dumping Eth seems like he knows it’s done! — #BTCPuppet (🦍,🦍) (@BtcPuppet) August 30, 2024

In August, this transaction marked the second significant transfer initiated from Buterin’s wallet, with an amount of 3000 Ether, equivalent to approximately $8.04 million at the time, being moved to the same multisignature wallet only a few weeks prior on August 9th.

In a clear statement, Buterin explained that he hasn’t personally profited from selling any of his ETH. Furthermore, whenever ETH from his wallet shows up on exchanges, it’s not him selling; instead, it’s individuals who have received his donations making those transactions.

“When you come across an article stating that ‘Vitalik transferred XXX ETH to [exchange],’ more often than not, it’s not a sale on my part but rather a donation to a charity, nonprofit, or another project. The exchange, in turn, sells the ETH because they need to cover their expenses,” he explained.

Buterin breakdown

Vitalik Buterin has about 90% of his total wealth invested in Ethereum, demonstrating his strong belief in its role as a valuable investment asset.

Vitalik Buterin’s assertions about assisting diverse projects appear credible, as evidenced by his reported donation of 199 Ether (approximately $517,000) to ethOS, a mobile operating system built on the Ethereum blockchain. [Source: Crypto.news]

Over the last three years, as reported by Lookonchain, Ethereum’s creator, Vitalik Buterin, has transferred more than 85,000 units (valued at approximately $209 million) from his digital wallets.

One observer is disputing the figure. See below.

Arkham has two undisclosed locations on record, but he currently holds approximately 272 thousand Ethereum (ETH) across three known addresses. Over a period of three years, he has reduced his ETH holdings by around 53 thousand ETH.— ogFaraday (@ogFaraday) August 30, 2024

Buterin also donated 200 ETH to Effective Altruism Funds, an animal welfare initiative, on Aug. 15.

Last year (in 2021), he generously contributed more than 50 trillion SHIB coins, equivalent to over a billion dollars in value as of then, to the India Covid Relief Fund set up by Sandeep Nailwal, one of the co-founders of Polygon.

Read More

2024-08-31 19:00