Author: Yogita Khatri, The Block; Translated by: Song Xue, Golden Finance
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has not sold any of his Ethereum holdings for personal gain since 2018.
Buterin currently holds about 250,000 ETH, which is worth about $390 million at current prices, according to his public address.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has revealed that he has not sold any of his Ethereum holdings for personal gain since 2018.
“If you see an article saying ‘Vitalik sent XXX ETH to [exchange],’ it’s not actually me selling. It’s almost always me donating to some charity, nonprofit, or other project, and the recipient is selling,” Buterin said on Warpcast, a decentralized social media platform built on the Farcaster protocol.
Buterin’s previous cryptocurrency transfers to exchanges have often sparked speculation, with many interpreting those actions as potential sales of his digital assets. Such transactions can sometimes cause market reactions and affect cryptocurrency prices.
How Much Ethereum Does Vitalik Buterin Own Currently?
Ethereum was launched in 2015. Buterin said in 2018 that the maximum amount of Ethereum he owned was about 0.9% of the total supply, which was 75 million at the time. That’s a maximum of 675,000 Ethereum.
Simon Cousaert, data director at The Block, said Buterin currently holds about 250,000 Ethereum, which is worth about $390 million at current prices, according to his public addresses. Cousaert added that Buterin has sent about 205,000 Ethereum from these addresses to exchanges over the years. The rest of the Ethereum can be kept in Buterin's private addresses and will not be sent to other counterparties.
The above chart shows that over the years, Buterin has sent more than 30% of his Ethereum holdings to exchanges for donations and other purposes. In June, Buterin founded his own charitable entity, Kanro, to fight Covid-19 and other epidemics. According to Arkham data, Kanro's public address currently holds about 75 million USDC stablecoins.
