Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s wealth is estimated by Arkham Intelligence to be at least $1.05 billion as of August 2025.
While ETH holdings make up the majority of his wealth, Buterin’s portfolio is also supplemented by various altcoins and crypto venture investments.
Buterin’s known wallets hold approximately 240,000 ETH, making his wealth heavily dependent on the price of Ethereum. With the price of ETH rising above $3,000 in 2021, 2024, and 2025, Buterin re-entered the billionaire list. However, due to fluctuations in the price of ETH, his wealth has occasionally dipped below $1 billion, but has since recovered.
Among his assets outside of ETH, he stands out for his investments in projects like AAVE V3 WETH, MOODENG, and WHITE tokens, as well as StarkNet. Buterin’s memecoin holdings consist of tokens gifted by developers. He also acquired half of the Shiba Inu (SHIB) supply from the developer in 2020, which at one point led to his fortune reaching $20 billion. Buterin has burned or donated most of these tokens.
Buterin’s wealth was shaped by his share of Ethereum’s founding. A 16.5% stake was distributed to the founders during the 2014 ETH presale. Buterin’s share of this share has helped him grow his crypto holdings. As the only founder to remain active in the project since Ethereum’s official launch in 2015, he has played a critical role in the network’s development.
Meanwhile, Buterin’s investments in crypto startups have also contributed to his wealth. While his stake in companies like StarkWare remains unclear, his contributions to leading projects in the industry are contributing to his net worth.
As of today, Vitalik Buterin is the largest individual ETH holder on Ethereum. Wallets holding larger amounts of ETH are primarily controlled by exchanges and institutional funds.
Buterin entered the crypto world in 2011 and paved the way for decentralized applications with the Ethereum Whitepaper he published in 2013. Ethereum’s transition to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) system in 2022 also took place under his leadership.
*This is not investment advice.