Vitalik Buterin Denies Selling His ETH Holdings

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has reiterated that he has not sold his own ETH and has kept the proceeds since 2018.

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 R&D)

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) August 31, 2024

“All sales have been to support various projects that I think are valuable, either within the Ethereum ecosystem or for charity,” he wrote.

Buterin was responding to accusations from a user claiming he was “talking about random technical stuff while ignoring all discussions about his ETH sales.”

A user named blknoiz06 defended him, emphasizing that the Ethereum co-founder created the second most significant project in crypto history, and “it’s okay to make some profit.”

In October 2023, Buterin had already stated that he had not sold ETH for personal gain since 2018. 

“If you see an article saying ‘Vitalik sends XXX ETH to [exchange],’ it’s not me selling; it’s almost always a donation to a charitable, non-profit, or other project. The recipient sells because they need to cover expenses,” he explained at the time.

These clarifications followed a report from PeckShield analysts about a transfer of 14.93 million USDC to the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange from the wallet associated with Buterin, vitalik.eth.

In June 2023, Buterin and Polygon head Sandeep Nailwal pledged $100 million to the Kanro fund for COVID-19 pandemic research. 

In August 2024, the Ethereum co-founder disclosed his salary at the Ethereum Foundation — 182,000 Singapore dollars (~$140,000) per year.