Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin Dumps Free Tokens for 9.4 ETH: Here’s Why

Vitalik Buterin sold unsolicited airdropped tokens for 9.4 ETH, reinforcing his anti-spam stance and funding public good.

Everything a high-profile figure does in the blockchain space receives instant attention.

On January 13, the community focused once again on Vitalik Buterin, the cofounder of the Ethereum network. 

On-chain analytics platforms flagged a new series of transactions from his main address. And in these transactions, Biterin sold a fresh batch of unsolicited tokens. 

Over the years, developers often “airdrop” these assets to him to gain fake credibility, and Buterin chooses to liquidate these tokens to maintain a clean portfolio.

Breaking Down the Recent Vitalik Buterin Wallet Activity

Blockchain trackers monitored the vitalik.eth address on Tuesday morning within a 30-minute timeframe.

Within this time, Buterin interacted with decentralised exchanges to offload various low-cap tokens. Most of these assets tend to be memecoins or experimental coins sent by teams hoping for a shout-out.

However, the numbers from this morning are specific. Buterin received 9.4 ETH from the sales, and this amount equals roughly $29,400 based on the current market price. 

A Pattern of Digital Housekeeping

This January event is part of a much larger trend. Buterin spent much of last year cleaning his digital closet. 

For example, in December, he conducted a large sweep of tokens like KNC, STRAYDOG and MUZZ. He received about 32,560 USDC and nearly 2 ETH from that move.

Earlier in October, he sold over 1,101 ETH worth of memecoins, including popular assets like MOODENG and EBULL.

Now in January, he has offloaded coins like DOG and ESTEE for $139,000 to fund charitable work before the current $30,000 dump.

Ethereum Dominance and Portfolio Health

Buterin keeps his personal holdings very simple. About 98% of his wealth is in Ethereum and he holds over 240,000 ETH in his public accounts. 

These small token sales make sure that his profile stays focused on his own network. He does not want to be associated with assets he does not technically support.

Overall for the general Ethereum market, these sales are tiny and the 9.4 ETH he just gained is a drop in a much larger bucket.

Why Vitalik Buterin’s Wallet Activity Matters

Developers often think that sending tokens to a famous wallet is a great strategy.

They want their project to appear on CoinMarketCap or CoinGecko as being “held by Vitalik.” However, Buterin has asked people to stop this behaviour. 

When he sells these coins, the market often reacts with a “flash crash.” 

Some small-cap tokens have dropped by 70% minutes after his trade and this particularly happened with the DINU token in early 2025. 

Related Reading: Vitalik Buterin Flags Structural Risks in Decentralized Stablecoins

Funding Public Good Through Liquidations

Analysts say that the money from this wallet activity rarely stays with him. Buterin is a famous supporter of “Effective Altruism.” and he uses these funds to support things that help the world. 

He has also sent millions to research for anti-airborne diseases, supporting biotech and longevity studies through the SENS Research Foundation.

Recently, he even supported the legal defence of Roman Storm by donating 50 ETH to help the Tornado Cash developer. 

Overall, his minor sales serve as a way to turn “spam” into something useful for society.

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