Vitalik Buterin Sells 17,196 ETH, Sparking Market Discussions Amid Ethereum Rally

• Vitalik Buterin sold 17,196 ETH, which has crossed the plan of selling 16,384 ETH.
• Ethereum is surging around 8% in the last 24 hours, which outperformed Bitcoin.

Vitalik Buterin is continuously selling ETH beyond his selling plan, as he sold more than $34 million in Ethereum. The latest sales occurred as Ethereum gained more than 8% in the past 24 hours, indicating a resurgence of positive momentum, and causing debates among traders over Buterin’s broader strategy. 

The blockchain analytics platform, Lookonchain, reported today that Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has continued selling ETH, with his cumulative sales reaching 17,196 ETH worth of $34.96 million. 

As Buterin’s current total sales already surpass his previously planned sales of 16,384 ETH. On January 30, Buterin shared a post on X and said that the planning isn’t about personal profit or market timing, it’s about funding long-term projects aligned with his vision of Ethereum and broader digital autonomy. 

With that, Buterin’s recent excess ETH sales created a discussion on whether additional ETH sales could follow and what the broader strategy behind the transactions could be. According to previous sales data, Buterin sold around 3,788.57 ETH, worth $7.3 million, nearly three days before February 24, while ETH was trading lower at around $1,820.

ETH Market Movements 

While writing the article, Ethereum is trading at $2,053.87, as the daily trading volume surged 61.47%, reaching towards $30.78 billion, which outperforms Bitcoin, XRP, and BNB.  With that, it has increased by around 4% over the past week. But, in the broader sense, the price remains weak by 30% down over the month. 

Ethereum’s total liquidations in the last 24 hours are $203.29 million, of which the majority were wiped out through short positions around $176.56 million, which indicates that bearish traders were largely caught. Meanwhile, open interest has climbed nearly 16%, pointing to a significant increase in active futures contracts.

Even during these gains, ETHZilla announced that it will rebrand as Forum Markets, shifting to a treasury-focused model centered on holding Ethereum, as the move follows a slump in crypto prices that caused the company’s shares to collapse.

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