Ethereum Co-founder Vitalik Buterin Liquidates Memecoins

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is liquidating memecoins from his well-known wallet, based on on-chain data from Arkham Research. As of now, Buterin has sold or swapped several dozen tokens — including popular cryptocurrencies like CULT, DOGE, and SHIB, along with lesser-known tokens referencing celebrities such as Elon Musk — for approximately $2.5 million worth of USDC and ETH.

Memecoin creators often send a portion of their total supply to influential figures like Buterin, hoping for positive publicity that can spark virality and increased trading activity. Periodically, Buterin offloads these gifted tokens, which typically drives down their prices, to donate the profits to various charities.

In 2021, for example, Buterin sold over $60 million worth of SHIB and other coins received in a publicity stunt, directing the funds to pet-related charities, longevity initiatives, AI alliances, and pandemic research.

Buterin, who holds an estimated worth nearing a billion dollars according to the holdings in his public wallet labeled with the vitalik.eth ENS name, possessed hundreds of tokens, mostly received for free; many are now virtually worthless.

His largest asset is over 240,095 ETH, valued at about $873 million. Additionally, he owns several million in AETH derivative tokens related to Aave and 10 billion WHITE tokens from a lesser-known tokenization platform, WhiteRock. Among his other assets is just under $1 million in wrapped ETH.

Recently, Buterin has begun sending tokens to various trading platforms like CoW Swap, Uniswap, and Kyber Network, as well as cross-chain DEX aggregator Odos. Some tokens involved are so thinly traded that their transaction impact on prices is unclear.

In a notable transaction, Buterin liquidated several trillion DOBE (Dobermann) tokens, which seem to have risen in trading value.

On-chain data indicates Buterin is consolidating profits to support his Kanro charity organization, a philanthropic fund he established to address COVID-19-related issues. He has also made recent donations to the privacy-focused RiseUp charity.