Vitalik Buterin to Use $100 Million From Crypto Relief's SHIB Funds to Accelerate Covid Relief Efforts

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has unveiled how he will use $100 million in cryptocurrency from India’s Covid Crypto Relief Fund (Cryptorelief) to accelerate relief efforts and “bring great benefit to Indians and non-Indians.” The crypto is part of the Shiba Inu funds Buterin donated to Cryptorelief last year.

Vitalik Buterin to Personally Deploy $100M From Shiba Funds to Help Covid Relief Efforts

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin tweeted Friday that Cryptorelief is sending $100 million in cryptocurrency from the “Shiba funds” back to him. He added that he plans to “personally deploy these funds” in some “higher-risk, higher-reward Covid science and relief projects worldwide.”

Buterin’s statement was in response to a tweet by Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon. Nailwal founded the Covid Crypto Relief Fund (Cryptorelief) in April last year.

Noting that he and Buterin have been in discussion “on how to accelerate relief efforts in India,” the Cryptorelief founder detailed:

We have come up with a solution, we will move $100mn USDC back to Vitalik, a non-Indian, to do fast deployment in high risk/reward projects.

Nailwal explained that Cryptorelief “has been extra cautious to be in full compliance of Indian jurisdiction, even though Cryptorelief entity is based out of India.”

He added: “Per conversations with Vitalik (who donated ~98% of the fund) … a sum of 100 million USDC will be transferred back to Vitalik’s address for accelerated funding in the domains of biotechnology and medical science, wherever he deems fit.”

Nailwal further revealed: “Cryptorelief still reserves 302mn USDC (Apart from ~70mn that it has already deployed) to keep disbursing in areas of need in India as it is.” Buterin donated $1 billion in shiba inu (SHIB) to the Indian covid relief fund in May last year.

Buterin subsequently tweeted: “I’ve co-founded a new org (Balvi) to direct these funds, which is in a better position to make these bets which are very high value and global in nature and bring great benefit to Indians and non-Indians.” He elaborated:

Projects will include vaccine R&D, innovative approaches to air filtration and ventilation, testing and much more.

What do you think about Vitalik working with Cryptorelief to accelerate relief efforts in India and abroad? Let us know in the comments section below.

Kevin Helms

A student of Austrian Economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open-source systems, network effects and the intersection between economics and cryptography.