Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has denied allegations that he sold millions of dollars worth of Ether (ETH) for personal profit. Buterin clarified that his ETH sales were solely to support various crypto projects and philanthropic endeavors.
On August 30, a member of the crypto community on X accused Buterin of dumping over $2 million worth of Ether following a bullish tweet. On-chain analytics firm Lookonchain also suggested that a wallet address associated with Buterin received 3,000 ETH on August 9.
Responding to these claims on August 31, Buterin addressed an X post defending his right to sell a portion of ETH tokens he earned over the past seven years.
Buterin Hasn't Sold Ether Since 2018
Buterin stated that he has not sold ETH for personal profit since 2018. Instead, his sales have been to fund various Web3 projects and charitable causes:
“I haven’t sold and kept the proceeds since 2018. All sales have been to support various projects that I think are valuable, either within the Ethereum ecosystem or broader charity (e.g., biomedical R&D).”
His statement received broad support from community members, many of whom encouraged Buterin to sell ETH for profit. One X user commented,
“Don’t even defend it; you deserve the yacht, too.”
Ethereum and the Growth of DeFi
Buterin has also recently defended Ethereum against criticisms that the blockchain "doesn't care" about decentralized finance (DeFi).
Kain Warwick, the creator behind the concept of yield farming, argued that Buterin is not a maximalist and is open to admitting when he's wrong, particularly regarding DeFi.
“One of the most critical things that he’s gotten wrong over the last five years is the importance of DeFi.”
Warwick stated.
Buterin, responding to similar accusations from an X user named MilliΞ, reiterated his commitment to supporting useful and sustainable applications while maintaining Ethereum's core principles of permissionlessness and decentralization. He added that he does not respect
"things whose attractiveness comes from some temporary source that has no sustainability."
