Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin sold about 2,961 Ether — roughly $6.6 million — over a three-day period after saying he planned to withdraw some holdings. Blockchain tracker Lookonchain reported the trades on X, noting they executed at an average price near $2,228 per ETH. At the time of reporting, Ether was trading around $2,130, down more than 5% over 24 hours per CoinMarketCap.
Arkham Intelligence data shows the sales were routed through CoW Protocol and completed as many small swaps rather than a single block trade, a common tactic to reduce market impact.
Last week Buterin announced he has set aside 16,384 ETH (about $45 million) from his personal holdings to support privacy-preserving technologies, open hardware, and secure, verifiable software. He said these funds will be deployed gradually over coming years as the Ethereum Foundation moves into what he described as “mild austerity,” while the foundation continues its technical roadmap. Buterin added he is personally taking on responsibilities that might otherwise fall to special foundation projects, focusing on building “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 and has explored alternatives including staking and DeFi-based approaches.
The recent sales occurred amid heightened market sensitivity to large holders. Falling ETH prices have led leveraged Ether whales to unload assets to repay loans, adding downward pressure. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan posted on X that the crypto market has been in a “full-blown crypto winter” since January 2025, and suggested the market may be closer to an end than a beginning.
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