{"id":73009,"date":"2023-01-24T21:38:21","date_gmt":"2023-01-24T19:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=73009"},"modified":"2025-09-09T11:42:47","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T08:42:47","slug":"vitalik-buterin-earned-92000-from-rai-token-trades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/vitalik-buterin-earned-92000-from-rai-token-trades\/","title":{"rendered":"Vitalik Buterin earned $92,000 from RAI token trades"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin held a short position in the &ldquo;low-volatility token&rdquo; RAI for seven months. He then closed it, earning $92,000 in profit. The observations were shared by on-chain researcher kyoronut.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Vitalik closed his short RAI position <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jeatjS1JT0\">https:\/\/t.co\/jeatjS1JT0<\/a> .<\/p>\n<p>Position summary:<br \/>\u2014 Age: ~230 days<br \/>\u2014 Borrowed: 400k RAI (sold for 1.221m DAI)<br \/>\u2014 Opening price: 3.053 RAI\/DAI<br \/>\u2014 Closing price: 2.786 DAI\/RAI (-8.7%)<br \/>\u2014 Profit: ~$92k <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IRmGgIFznI\">https:\/\/t.co\/IRmGgIFznI<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 kyoronut | \u304d\u3087\u308d\u30ca\u30c3\u30c4 (@kyoronut) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kyoronut\/status\/1616955373851926533?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 22, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Buterin began the operations in May. First he borrowed 400,000 RAI, then sold them for the stablecoins DAI worth $1.2 million. Thus, it turned into something like a short position on RAI.<\/p>\n<p>The Ethereum co-founder closed the short on January 22 of this year, selling DAI and ETH for $1.13 million for RAI. His profit was $92,000.<\/p>\n<p>According to kyoronut, the opening price was 3.053 RAI\/DAI, and the closing price 2.786 DAI\/RAI (-8.7%). The researcher added that since mid-May the price of the &ldquo;low-volatility token&rdquo; had fallen by 7.6%. At the same time, Buterin was selling the coin at local price highs.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Since the position opening (2022-05-15), RAI\u2019s redemption price decreased by 7.6% (dune: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wnC6higSYO\">https:\/\/t.co\/wnC6higSYO<\/a> ).<\/p>\n<p>He sold RAI at some spikes of the market price ( <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AvYdywXU51\">https:\/\/t.co\/AvYdywXU51<\/a>) . <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Z0VQ0CAz5H\">pic.twitter.com\/Z0VQ0CAz5H<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 kyoronut | \u304d\u3087\u308d\u30ca\u30c3\u30c4 (@kyoronut) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kyoronut\/status\/1616958060974735360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 22, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>RAI from Reflexer Labs is an Ethereum-backed experimental &ldquo;stablecoin&rdquo; not pegged to any token or fiat currency. To mint it, you must lock a certain amount of ETH and pay a 2% fee.<\/p>\n<p>Because of its design features, RAI&#8217;s market value is subject to fluctuations. Over the past year the coin&#8217;s price fell from $3.07 to $2.79. Nevertheless, the token has shown far lower volatility in comparison with Ethereum used as collateral.<\/p>\n<p>Vitalik Soleimani, co-founder of Reflexer Labs, now leading the SpankChain project, used Buterin&#8217;s trades to support the thesis that the design of the &ldquo;low-volatility token&rdquo; is flawed.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">ETH-only RAI was a mistake<\/p>\n<p>the ETH staking yield means that borrowing RAI against pure ETH will always have some % opportunity cost<\/p>\n<p>the RAI redemption rate should almost always be negative to reflect this opportunity cost<\/p>\n<p>decentralization is expensive, people don\u2019t want to pay <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rMCs1tCFlN\">pic.twitter.com\/rMCs1tCFlN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 ameen.eth (@ameensol) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ameensol\/status\/1617582677833699330?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 23, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cRAI, based on ETH alone, was a mistake,\u201d he emphasised.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The main drawback of the asset is that users do not receive Ethereum staking rewards in collateral. Thus, the issuance of RAI is associated with <a href=\"https:\/\/ru.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/%D0%90%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B5_%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B6%D0%BA%D0%B8#:~:text=opportunity%20cost)%20%E2%80%94%20%D1%8D%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9%20%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B8%D0%BD,%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BC%D1%8B%D0%BC,%20%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%B0%20%D0%BE%D1%82%20%D0%B4%D1%80%D1%83%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%85%20%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B9.<\/a>&nbsp;\u042d\u0442\u0438\u043c \u0432\u043e \u043c\u043d\u043e\u0433\u043e\u043c \u043e\u0431\u0443\u0441\u043b\u043e\u0432\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0430 \u043d\u0438\u0441\u0445\u043e\u0434\u044f\u0449\u0430\u044f \u0442\u0440\u0430\u0435\u043a\u0442\u043e\u0440\u0438\u044f \u0434\u0432\u0438\u0436\u0435\u043d\u0438\u044f \u0446\u0435\u043d\u044b \u0442\u043e\u043a\u0435\u043d\u0430. <\/p>\n<p>\u041f\u043e \u0435\u0433\u043e \u0441\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0430\u043c, \u043f\u043e\u043c\u043e\u0447\u044c \u0440\u0435\u0448\u0438\u0442\u044c \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0431\u043b\u0435\u043c\u0443 \u043c\u043e\u0436\u0435\u0442 \u043b\u0438\u0448\u044c \u043f\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0437\u0430\u043f\u0443\u0441\u043a \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0442\u043e\u043a\u043e\u043b\u0430 \u0441 \u0437\u0430\u043c\u0435\u043d\u043e\u0439 \u043a\u0440\u0438\u043f\u0442\u043e\u0432\u0430\u043b\u044e\u0442\u044b ETH \u043d\u0430 \u0442\u043e\u043a\u0435\u043d stETH \u043e\u0442 Lido \u0432 \u043a\u0430\u0447\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0435 \u043e\u0431\u0435\u0441\u043f\u0435\u0447\u0435\u043d\u0438\u044f. <\/p>\n<p>Earlier <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/vitalik-buterin-earned-more-than-4-million-from-dogecoin-investments\">Vitalik Buterin earned more than $4 million<\/a> on investments in Dogecoin.<\/p>\n<p>\u0427\u0438\u0442\u0430\u0439\u0442\u0435 \u0431\u0438\u0442\u043a\u043e\u0438\u043d-\u043d\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0438 ForkLog \u0432 \u043d\u0430\u0448\u0435\u043c <a href=\"https:\/\/telegram.me\/forklog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Telegram<\/a> \u2014 \u043d\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0438 \u043a\u0440\u0438\u043f\u0442\u043e\u0432\u0430\u043b\u044e\u0442, \u043a\u0443\u0440\u0441\u044b \u0438 \u0430\u043d\u0430\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0430.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vitalik Buterin held a short position in the &#8216;low-volatility token&#8217; RAI for seven months, then closed it, earning $92,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":73010,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[200],"class_list":["post-73009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-vitalik-buterin"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"29","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73009"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73011,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73009\/revisions\/73011"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}