In a recent statement, the founder of MakerDAO, Rune Christensen, advocated for the consideration of Solana as the potential foundation for his protocol’s upcoming blockchain, NewChain. He cited Solana’s technical excellence and optimization as compelling reasons for this proposition.
Shortly after the blog post, Buterin liquidated his entire holdings of 500 MKR tokens using the CoW protocol. According to data from the Arkham Intelligence dashboard, these sales resulted in a total of 353 ETH being acquired.
This sale marks the first instance of Buterin selling MKR tokens since 2021 when he made a charitable donation of 100 MKR tokens to the Indian Covid relief fund.
In April 2018, Buterin acquired 1,071 MKR tokens when they were valued at $905 each. Given the current trading price of $1,127 per token, it’s evident that Buterin has realized a substantial profit on his holdings.
While there’s speculation that this sale might be a retaliatory action, it seems unlikely, especially considering Buterin’s past support for the Solana network. It appears that Buterin’s move was, ostensibly, a response to a blog post by MakerDAO’s co-founder.
Maker Protocol Plans to Join Hands With Solana
In the blog post, Christensen conveyed his interest in potentially forking from the Solana blockchain, which utilizes a Rust-based codebase, indicating a potential shift away from the existing Ethereum platform, which is based on Solidity.
Christensen laid out three key rationales for favoring Solana’s codebase for NewChain.
First and foremost, he lauded the “technical quality” of Solana’s codebase, highlighting its efficiency and optimization. He argued that this aligns seamlessly with the goals of NewChain, which is dedicated to resolving the technical challenges faced by MakerDAO.
He further explained that the Solana codebase is well-crafted and benefits from being developed after the complexities and challenges inherent in blockchain technology have already been well-understood. This aligns perfectly with the primary goal of NewChain, which is to rectify the technical issues and debt within the MakerDAO ecosystem.
Additionally, Christensen emphasized Solana’s resilience and its track record of successfully overcoming challenges, such as the recent FTX incident. He noted that the Solana ecosystem offers access to a high-caliber talent pool and presents cost-effective avenues for the development and long-term maintenance of NewChain.
Lastly, Christensen pointed out that Solana’s codebase has already been effectively forked and adjusted to operate as application chains. He proposed that MakerDAO could consider a similar approach when developing NewChain.
Vitalik Buterin Off-Loaded Crypto in the Past
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has a track record of selling his digital asset holdings. In August, he sold 600 Ether, valued at around $1 Million, using Coinbase. This action garnered significant attention from market observers, who speculated that it contributed to downward pressure on Ether’s price, especially during a period when the cryptocurrency was facing challenges.
Earlier in March 2023, Buterin transferred 200 ETH to Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange. During this same period, he also disposed of several unwanted altcoins, trading them for a total of 439.25 ETH.
Steve Anderson is an Australian crypto enthusiast. He is a specialist in management and trading for over 5 years. Steve has worked as a crypto trader, he loves learning about decentralisation, understanding the true potential of the blockchain.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2023/09/04/vitalik-buterin-sells-all-his-500k-mkr-tokens-a-retaliation/