Why Vitalik Buterin Sold Over 700 Ethereum (ETH) Despite Market Recovery

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So, it seems that our friendly neighborhood Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, has decided to lighten his digital load by offloading a mere 700 Ethereum coins. Just a casual Tuesday, right?

Thanks to the diligent folks at blockchain analytics platforms, we know this wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment decision made while binge-watching his favorite series. No, no! These transactions were part of a grand plan to fund some long-term initiatives. It’s almost like he had a plan or something!

The Great ETH Sell-Off: Vitalik’s Charitable Gambit

According to Lookonchain, Buterin sold a delightful 211.84 ETH for a stunningly precise 500,000 USDC. He then whisked the entire sum off to Kanro, a philanthropic organization he set up. Apparently, Kanro is all about battling infectious diseases-because who wouldn’t want to tackle something as cheerful as that after the pandemic?

Now, it’s not like this is Vitalik’s first rodeo. In January 2025, he sold an impressive 28 different meme coins-yes, you read that right-worth around 984,000 USDC. And where did that money go? You guessed it! Straight to Kanro, because why not keep the charitable spirit alive?

But wait, there’s more! After his initial sale, Buterin didn’t stop there. Oh no! He decided to offload another 493 ETH, bringing his grand total to 704.84 ETH, which is worth about $1.63 million. Talk about a busy day at the office!

If you were expecting this to be a scandalous act of market manipulation, hold your horses. Last week, Buterin casually mentioned on X (formerly Twitter, because, well, rebranding is all the rage) that he’d withdrawn 16,384 ETH to be used for long-term goals. Austerity measures, anyone?

“In these five years, the Ethereum Foundation is entering a period of mild austerity,” he stated, with all the flair of a budget-conscious superhero. “To this end, my own share of the austerity is that I am personally taking on responsibilities that might in another time have been ‘special projects’ of the EF.”

It’s almost poetic, really. Buterin plans to use those funds to support the development of secure and verifiable software and hardware across various sectors-finance, governance, you name it. It’s like he has a whole tech buffet planned out!

“The Ethereum Foundation will continue with a steadfast focus on developing Ethereum,” he declared, channeling his inner philosopher. “‘Ethereum everywhere’ is nice, but the primary priority is ‘Ethereum for people who need it.’ Not corposlop, but self-sovereignty!”

And if you’re wondering how much Ethereum he still owns after this little garage sale, it turns out he has a staggering 235,268 ETH left! That’s about $549.2 million, plus smaller amounts in WETH and aETH. All in all, his portfolio is valued at over $569 million-down from a lofty $800 million, but hey, who’s counting?

Interestingly enough, it appears that Buterin’s ETH sales caused about as much fuss in the market as a butterfly landing on a leaf. Ethereum, being the resilient cryptocurrency that it is, continued its dance along with the broader market recovery.

According to BeInCrypto Markets data, ETH even managed to gain approximately 5% over the past 24 hours. At the time of writing, it was trading at a cool $2,312.6. Who said selling off your stash was a bad idea?

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2026-02-03 10:33