Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin Clarifies Latest 190 ETH Sale Amid Concerns

As reported by Bitcoinist, Buterin first transferred 3,000 ETH, worth about $8.04 million at the time, to the multisig wallet on August 9. Twenty days later, he sent another 800 ETH, valued at $2.01 million, to the same address. The multisig then converted 190 ETH into 477,000 USDC.

Following the news, the crypto community criticized Buterin, accusing him of “bullposting while dumping” on the market. Some expressed concern about Ethereum’s price future, as developers seemed to be “dumping on us.” However, a few investors defended Buterin, saying that taking profits occasionally is reasonable. Buterin himself responded to these accusations, stating that he does not sell tokens for personal gain.

In a post on X, Buterin clarified that all of his sales since 2018 have been to support projects he finds valuable, both within the Ethereum ecosystem and beyond, including charitable causes like biomedical research and development.

Is Vitalik Still Selling?

Despite these clarifications, fresh concerns arose when on-chain data firm Lookonchain revealed on September 11 that Buterin’s multisig wallet had sold another 190 ETH. The transaction, valued at 441,971 USDC, was part of a broader pattern. Since August 30, Buterin’s multisig had sold 950 ETH, worth $2.27 million, at an average price of $2,396.

This 950 ETH was sold in five separate transactions of 190 ETH each, occurring every three days. After the final sale, Buterin deposited the proceeds from the 950 ETH into the decentralized protocol Aave.
public goods.

The news alarmed some community members, who again criticized Buterin for selling while publicly promoting Ethereum. Some even questioned the validity of his previous statements.

In response, Buterin posted another explanation on X, stating that the recent transaction was triggered by an “automatic cowswap twap order” initiated by a bio-defense group he supports.