 
 
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is an on-chain billionaire once again following Ether’s breakout above $4,000 for the first time since December 2024, a psychologically important milestone that triggered fresh buying and set the stage for the crypto’s push higher.
“Vitalik Buterin is now an on-chain billionaire again,” blockchain sleuth Arkham Intelligence wrote in a Saturday post on X.
Buterin’s portfolio is currently worth around $1.04 billion. Buterin’s massive ETH holdings, which he received from the pre-mine allocation, remain his primary wealth driver. He also has smaller stakes in other crypto assets such as Aave Ethereum (AETHWETH), WhiteRock (WHITE), Moo Deng (MOODENG), and Wrapped Ethereum (WETH).
ETH Price Making A Comeback
Buterin first became a billionaire back in May 2021 when he was just 27. This was when the price of Ether hit $3,000 for the first time. At the time, he held approximately 333,500 ETH, valued at roughly $1.029 billion.
The Canadian crypto luminary’s fortunes soared further in November 2021 as the ETH price skyrocketed to a new lifetime peak of $4,878. However, nearly three years earlier, in October 2018, Buterin claimed he never held over 0.9% of all the ETH supply and that his net worth “never came close to $1b.”
 
Fast-forward to August 2025, the altcoin king is once again within the striking distance of smashing a fresh all-time high. At press time, ETH was trading for $4,276.34, representing a 21.9% rise over the past seven days, according to crypto data provider CoinGecko.
While many in the industry believe the rise of Ether treasury firms has been a key catalyst behind Ether’s latest rocket surge, Buterin recently cautioned that ETH’s future must not come at the cost of excessive leverage.
“If you woke me up three years from now and told me that treasuries led to the downfall of ETH, then, of course, my guess for why would basically be that somehow they turned it into an overleveraged game,” Buterin said during an interview with the Bankless podcast on Thursday.
The market for publicly traded companies that hold Ether has swelled to $12.83 billion, led by Peter Thiel-backed BitMine Immersion Technologies and SharpLink Gaming. BitMine holds 833,100 ETH worth $3.2 billion — making it the largest corporate holder of Ether. SharpLink and The Ether Machine hold $2 billion and $1.34 billion worth of ETH, respectively.
Source: https://zycrypto.com/vitalik-buterin-regains-much-coveted-billionaire-status-as-ether-jumps-above-4200/