Vitalik Buterin Sells $6.6M in ETH After Flagging Withdrawals
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin sold approximately 2,961 Ether valued at $6.6 million over three days, following earlier comments indicating he planned to withdraw a portion of his holdings.
Blockchain analytics account Lookonchain said in a Thursday post on X that the sales were executed at an average price of about $2,228 per Ether (ETH). ETH was trading near $2,130 at the time of writing, down more than 5% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.
Data from Arkham Intelligence indicates the transactions were routed through CoW Protocol and conducted as multiple smaller swaps rather than a single block trade, a common approach to limit market impact.
Buterin allocates $45 million in ETH to privacy and open infrastructure initiatives
Last week, Buterin said he set aside 16,384 Ether, worth about $45 million, from his personal holdings to support privacy-preserving technologies, open hardware, and secure, verifiable software. He added that the funds would be deployed gradually over the coming years as the Ethereum Foundation enters what he described as a period of “mild austerity,” while continuing to advance its technical roadmap.
Buterin noted he is personally assuming responsibilities that might otherwise be handled by dedicated foundation initiatives, with an emphasis on building an open, secure, and verifiable technology stack across software and hardware. “Specifically, we are seeking the existence of an open-source, secure and verifiable full stack of software and hardware that can protect both our personal lives and our public environments.”
The Ethereum Foundation has previously faced criticism for selling ETH to fund operations but has explored alternative approaches, including staking and decentralized finance-based strategies.
Market sensitivity increases amid uncertainty
The transactions occurred during a period of heightened sensitivity around large holders. Recent declines in ETH have prompted leveraged Ether whales to sell assets to repay loans, adding to selling pressure.
In an X post on Tuesday, Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan said the crypto market has been in a “full-blown crypto winter” since January 2025. “Chances are, we’re closer to the end than the beginning,” Hougan said.
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