Ethereum Co-founder Vitalik Buterin Transfers $8M in ETH to New Wallet
Additionally, Buterin sent an extra $441 million worth of the same token to Gitcoin, to support the platform’s mission to improve security within the crypto industry.
Ethereum co-founder and prominent figure in the crypto industry Vitalik Buterin recently transferred $8 million worth of ETH to a new wallet address, sparking speculation about a potential donation to charity. Historically, Buterin has moved substantial amounts of Ethereum to various wallet addresses, which often turned out to be donations supporting charitable organizations and other noble causes.
This caused Lookonchain to believe the latest transfer of 3,000 ETH worth approximately $8 million could “possibly be a donation”. The digital assets were sent to a multi-signature safe wallet, which Lookonchain suggests may belong to an unidentified charitable organization.
$1 Billion Donation to Support Pandemic Heroes
In addition to the 3,000 Ether, another blockchain security firm PeckShield detected he transferred 200 ETH worth $534,000 to an address labeled 0xEBb7…eB89.
While it is not clear whether the funds are related to charity as suggested by Lookonchain, the Ethereum co-founder started making hefty donations to charities in May 2021.
At the time, he sent over $1 billion worth of different cryptocurrencies to an Indian Covid-Crypto Relief Fund initiative established to support those affected by the Pandemic.
This initiative was founded in the same year by Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal, who initially funded it with $1 million.
In 2023, Buterin continued his philanthropic efforts by making another donation to help fund research projects related to the virus. The group allocated $100 million for the research, with Buterin contributing an additional $10 million to kick-start the program.
According to him, the funds will be used to conduct research aimed at improving indoor air quality to prevent the spread of coronavirus and investigating ways to mitigate the long-term effects of the virus.
Buterin Donates to Open-Source Initiatives
Beyond pandemic relief efforts, Buterin has also made substantial contributions to open-source projects. On May 12, 2021, the open-source bug bounty platform Gitcoin announced that it had received a “generous gift” from Buterin worth approximately $5 million. The Ethereum co-founder sent 49 trillion Akita Inu tokens (AKITA) to the platform’s wallet address.
Additionally, Buterin sent an extra $441 million worth of the same token to Gitcoin, to support the platform’s mission to improve security within the crypto industry.
Last month, Buterin donated 100 ETH to the 2077 Collective Community, an initiative designed to promote the Ethereum blockchain and strengthen its position within the industry. This group, composed of creatives, researchers, developers, and marketers, plans to launch innovative projects to “make Ethereum cool again”.
Meanwhile, the Ethereum co-founder is not alone in his philanthropic endeavors. According to data from The Giving Block, crypto donations reached a record high in 2022, with $125 million donated to various charities.
As a result, the company predicts that crypto donations could surpass $10 billion over the next decade.
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