Why Is Vitalik Buterin Selling Ethereum (ETH)?

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has recently offloaded a small portion of his ETH holdings, selling just over 700 coins in a series of on-chain transactions.

The sales were tracked by blockchain analytics platforms. They appear to align with a previously disclosed plan to fund long-term initiatives, rather than a market-driven liquidation.

Vitalik Buterin Sells Over 700 ETH in Planned Funding Move

Lookonchain reported that Buterin sold 211.84 ETH for approximately 500,000 USDC. He transferred the full amount to Kanro, a philanthropic entity established by the Ethereum co-founder. Kanro supports research and initiatives focused on combating infectious diseases, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Buterin has a track record of channeling crypto asset sales into charitable causes. In January 2025, he sold 28 different meme coins worth approximately 984,000 USDC. The executive directed the proceeds to Kanro, reinforcing his long-standing commitment to philanthropy.

Following the initial ETH sale, Buterin continued selling. Lookonchain highlighted that he offloaded another 493 ETH. Together, these actions brought the total to 704.84 ETH, worth approximately $1.63 million at current market prices.

The sales are not a total surprise. In a post published last week on X (formerly Twitter), Buterin said he had withdrawn 16,384 ETH to be deployed toward long-term goals over the next few years.

“In these five years, the Ethereum Foundation is entering a period of mild austerity,” he stated.”To this end, my own share of the austerity is that I am personally taking on responsibilities that might in another time have been ‘special projects’ of the EF.”

He explained that the funds would support the development of open-source, secure, and verifiable software and hardware across areas such as finance, communications, governance, operating systems, secure hardware, and biotech, including both personal and public health. Buterin also noted that he is exploring secure decentralized staking options to generate additional funding over time.

“The Ethereum Foundation will continue with a steadfast focus on developing Ethereum, with that goal in mind. ‘Ethereum everywhere’ is nice, but the primary priority is ‘Ethereum for people who need it,’ Not corposlop, but self-sovereignty, and the baseline infrastructure that enables cooperation without domination,” Buterin added.

According to the latest data from Arkham, Buterin still holds 235,268 ETH worth approximately $549.2 million, alongside smaller allocations in WETH and aETHwETH. His overall portfolio is valued at more than $569 million, down from over $800 million amid broader market headwinds that have pushed asset prices lower.

Meanwhile, Buterin’s ETH sales appeared to have little to no immediate impact on the asset’s market performance. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, continued to move in line with the broader market, which has shown signs of recovery.

According to BeInCrypto Markets data, ETH gained approximately 5% over the past 24 hours. At the time of writing, it was trading at $2,312.6.