• Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin claims that he has never sold his ETH holdings since 2018, following rumours about transaction activities. 

• However, reports hint that Buterin recently transferred $10 million worth of ETH to an exchange. 

Ethereum’s (ETH) Vitalik Buterin has responded to widely speculated rumours that suggest that he has sold a substantial amount of his ETH holdings. 

He said he has not sold ETH for the past six years unless it was channelled into a project within the ecosystem or charity. 

I haven’t sold and kept the proceeds since 2018. All sales have been to support various projects that I think are valuable, either within the Ethereum ecosystem or broader charity (eg. biomedical research and development).

Prior to his liquidation response, multiple sources disclosed that the Ethereum co-founder had transferred $10 million worth of ETH to an exchange. According to Arkham Intelligence, 422,000 ETH ($1.04 billion) had been moved from a wallet address linked to Buterin between 2015 and September 1, 2024. 840,000 ETH has been moved out of the address in the past two years. 

On August 30, An X user also posted that Buterin dumped $2 million worth of ETH after making a bullish tweet. Confirming this, Lookonchain disclosed that 3000 ETH was sent to the same address on August 9. 

Periodic ETH Movements by Ethereum Foundation

The timing appears quite interesting as ETH currently trades around 180% above its 2022 low of $885. Most intriguingly, Buterin’s transfer coincides with that of the Ethereum Foundation. In August, the foundation transferred 84,000 ETH ($207 million) to a crypto exchange. Contrary to the wide speculations, the Foundation’s transfers are reported to fall in line with its periodic liquidations to fund development, research, and important projects within the ecosystem. 

While this could be for a good course, experts believe that such voluminous liquidations trigger short-term selling pressure. In 2021, the Foundation transferred 20,000 ETH to the Kraken exchange. Shortly after, the market embarked on an 85% correction. Confirming our recent report, ETH whales are currently reacting with massive selloffs. 

Buterin’s Remark on DeFi

Recently, Buterin pointed out that $8.4 million in grants were awarded to ecosystem projects last quarter. On top of that, he named betting platform Polymarket and stablecoins USDC and RAI as part of the projects he believes in. On the other side, Buterin expressed his displeasure with business models that incorporate liquidity farming. According to him, they mostly appear unsustainable with time. 

Things that I don’t respect are things whose attractiveness comes from some temporary source that has no sustainability, eg. I felt no excitement toward the 2021-era liquidity farming craze because it was obvious that it came from token issuances that are fundamentally temporary.

Reacting to his recent defence of Ethereum against the claim that the blockchain does not consider Decentralized Finance important, the inventor behind the concept of yield farming, Kain Warwick, mentioned that Buterin is not a Maxi. 

One of the most critical things that he’s gotten wrong over the last five years is the importance of DeFi.

At press time, ETH was trading at $2,508 after declining by 4% in the last seven days. 

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