Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has once again unsettled the meme coin market with a swift exit from two tokens. His latest sales have reignited memories of the 2021 Shiba Inu (SHIB) episode that reshaped the token’s trajectory. Traders watched closely as on-chain data confirmed the transactions, sparking immediate price reactions. The move served as another reminder that Buterin rarely holds meme coins for long.
Buterin Offloads Puppies and ERC20 Tokens
According to Onchain Lens, Buterin sold 150 billion Puppies tokens for 28.58 ETH, valued at about $114,000. He also liquidated 1 billion ERC20 tokens, converting them into $13,900 in USDC. While relatively small compared to Ethereum’s market scale, the sales carried symbolic weight.
On-chain analysts reported that the ERC20 token plunged by 70% soon after its transactions were confirmed. Puppies, which had recently gained traction, also faced heightened scrutiny as news spread across trading groups.
Buterin’s wallet history has consistently shown a pattern of quick exits from meme coin allocations. Market participants viewed this week’s actions as a repeat of that strategy, triggering immediate selling pressure. For holders, the signal was clear: meme tokens associated with Ethereum’s creator do not represent a long-term endorsement.
Shiba Inu Parallel and Market Impact
The most recent deal was compared to the high-profile involvement of Shiba Inu in 2021 by Buterin. By this time, the developers of SHIB contacted him with billions of tokens. Buterin donated a large part of it to the COVID-19 relief in India effectively reducing the supply of SHIB.
That action both came as a surprise to the community and, at the same time, generated a wave of interest that helped make SHIB one of the most well-known meme coins during that bull cycle.
The same market dynamic was reflected in the sales this week, although they were on a smaller scale. The quick response of traders strengthened the idea that the influence of Buterin is not only in Ethereum. Every sale he makes has an overvalued effect due to his background with SHIB.
At the time of writing SHIB is trading at around $0.00001174, suggesting a 0.57% decline in the last 24 hours.
SHIB Price Source: CoinMarketCap