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

Vitalik Buterin, the Ethereum co-founder, clapped back at critics Saturday, clarifying whether he sold any of the ETH he had acquired since 2018.

“All sales have been to support various projects that I think are valuable, either within the ethereum ecosystem or broader charity,” Buterin said in an Aug. 31 post on X.com.

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

Buterin addresses accusations

Buterin recently transferred 800 ETH (approximately $2.01 million) to a multisig wallet, which subsequently swapped 190 ETH for 477,000 USD Coin, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar.

The activity piqued the interest of those in the crypto community; some assumed Buterin was dumping his ETH.

This was the second major transfer from Buterin’s wallet in August. 3000 ETH, worth $8.04 million at the time, were moved just weeks before on Aug. 9 to the same multisig wallet.

Buterin clarified that none of his ETH has been sold for personal profit. Also, when ETH from his wallet appears on exchanges, it’s not him selling but the recipients of his donations, he adds.

“If you see an article saying ‘Vitalik sends XXX ETH to [exchange],’ it’s not actually me selling, it’s almost always me donating to some charity or nonprofit or other project, and the recipient selling because, well, they have to cover expenses,” he said.

Buterin breakdown

Buterin holds roughly 90% of his net worth in ETH, underscoring his commitment to the digital asset as a store of value.

Buterin’s claims about supporting “various projects” aren’t unfounded. Crypto.news reported that the 30-year-old entrepreneur donated 199 ETH (roughly $517,000) to ethOS, a mobile operating system based on the Ethereum blockchain.

Buterin has offloaded over 85,000 ($209 million) from his wallets in the past three years, according to Lookonchain data.

One observer is disputing the figure. See below.

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

In 2021, he donated over 50 trillion SHIB tokens, worth over $1 billion at the time, toward the India Covid Relief Fund established by Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal.