Here’s Why The Ethereum Founder Moved $2 Million In ETH

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has denied allegations that he has been selling significant amounts of Ether for personal gain.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has denied selling large amounts of Ether (ETH) for personal gain, following allegations that he has been doing so to the tune of millions of dollars.

According to blockchain data tracker Lookonchain, Buterin transferred 800 ETH, currently valued at around $2 million, to a multi-signature (multi-sig) wallet on Aug. 30. The recipient address then swapped 190 ETH for 477,000 USD Coin (USDC) shortly after.

In a post on social media platform X, Lookonchain also noted that Buterin had moved 3,000 ETH, equivalent to more than $8 million, to the same multi-sig address on Aug. 9. This activity has been closely monitored by members of the crypto community.

One community member accused Buterin of ignoring commentary on his recent ETH transfers, while another suggested that it would not be inappropriate for him to take some profit by reducing his ETH holdings.

However, Buterin responded to this supportive post on X, stating that he has not sold any ETH for personal gain since 2018. According to Buterin:

“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 (e.g. biomedical R&D).”

This revelation garnered further support from the online crypto community, with some members encouraging the Ethereum co-founder to spend some of his assets on luxury items.

Buterin disclosed in a Reddit post three years ago that all the Ether tokens he owns — 11.9 million ETH at the time — come from the pre-mine period, during which he received approximately 700,000 ETH.

For context, pre-mining can be likened to initial coin offerings (ICOs), where founders, developers, and early investors are rewarded with a percentage of the tokens.

According to blockchain intelligence firm Arkham, Buterin currently holds about 240,000 ETH, valued at around $1.06 billion. This present figure is roughly 423,000 ETH less than the initial tokens received by the Ethereum co-founder.

At the time of writing, the price of Ethereum has fallen below $2,500, reflecting a 1.9% decline over the last 24 hours. The altcoin's price is also down by more than 10% in the past week, according to data from CoinGecko.