 
 
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has withdrawn 16,384 ETH, worth roughly $45 million at current market prices, to personally finance a broader effort to build an open-source, secure, and verifiable “full stack” of software and hardware.
Ethereum Foundation Enters A Period Of “Mild Austerity” While Sticking To Its Core Technical Roadmap
In a Friday post on X, Buterin said the Ethereum Foundation is entering “a period of mild austerity,” as it seeks to deliver an aggressive development roadmap while ensuring it can sustain itself over the long term.
Buterin described the capital allocation as his “own share of the austerity,” indicating that he would take on responsibilities previously considered the EF’s “special projects.”
He opined, “If you have seen […] my own enthusiasm and use for privacy-preserving, walkaway-test-friendly and local-first software (including operating systems), then you know the general spirit of what I am planning to support.”
According to Buterin’s post, this initiative spans across areas such as finance, communication, governance, operating systems, secure hardware, and biotech applications for personal and public health.
 
The Ethereum Foundation will remain with a “steadfast focus” on core protocol development, Buterin stated, but with an emphasis on “Ethereum for people who need it” — prioritizing decentralization, self-sovereignty, privacy, and security over “Ethereum everywhere.”
Buterin’s ETH Capital To Be Deployed Over Long-Term
The 16,384 ETH will be deployed toward these goals over the next few years. He added that he is also exploring “decentralized staking options” that could generate additional funding via staking rewards over time.
ETH was trading around $2,630 as of press time, according to CoinGecko data, down considerably from its October peak of around $4,830 amid a meltdown in crypto markets triggered by macro headwinds.
Notably, the Foundation currently holds approximately $557 million in crypto, data from on-chain analytics firm Arkham shows. The Ethereum wunderkind, meanwhile, owns about $665 million.