Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is selling various meme coins he received for free.
According to on-chain analysis by Lookonchain, Buterin’s recent transactions netted him 908.77 Ethereum (ETH). This is equivalent to approximately $2.24 million at the current price of Ethereum (ETH).
Buterin’s largest sale
The blockchain data reveals that Buterin sold tokens from several meme coin projects, digital assets launched explicitly as a joke.
The largest sales came from 10 billion MOODENG tokens. The single sale brought in 395.96ETH ($976,000).
vitalik.eth(@VitalikButerin) sold some memecoins for 651.67 $ETH($1.61M) again 1 hour ago!In the past 12 hours, #vitalik got a total of 908.77 $ETH($2.24M) by selling memecoins received for free.Sold 10B $MOODENG for 395.96 $ETH($976K).Sold 200K $MSTR for 93.23 $ETH($231K).… pic.twitter.com/fE1NTyu9k9
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) October 13, 2024
In addition, he sold 200k MSTR for 93.23 ETH ($231,000), 500 million EBULL for 73.79 ETH ($182,000), and 15 million Popcat (POPCAT), which made him 27.11 ETH ($67,000).
Other notable sales included:
20 billion MILO for 20.75 ETH ($51,000)
11.06 trillion FWOG for 14 ETH ($35,000)
500k TCATI for 12.81 ETH ($32,000)
20.35 trillion FWOG for 8.53 ETH ($21,000)
202 million VITALIK for 5.49 ETH ($14,000)
14 billion ITO tokens for 36.55 ETH ($90,000)
1.05 million ETH6900 tokens for 15.37 ETH ($38,000)
50.53 billion SATO tokens for 11.34 ETH ($28,000)
Buterin appreciates meme coins
This sell-off comes in the wake of Buterin’s previous statements expressing appreciation for meme coins that donate portions of their supply directly to charity.
In a recent tweet, Buterin stated, “I appreciate all the meme coins that donate portions of their supply directly to charity. Anything that gets sent to me gets donated to charity too.”
Buterin’s tweet also revealed that a donation of 10 billion Moodeng tokens would be directed towards anti-airborne-disease technology.
Read more: YouTuber MrBeast earned over $10m promoting low-cap tokens, on-chain crypto investigator says
However, he stressed his preference for projects to send donations directly to charities. Buterin also suggested that communities could even create decentralized autonomous organizations to engage in the decision-making process for charitable giving.
The Ethereum co-founder has long been an advocate for using cryptocurrency for social good.
In a tweet, Buterin reiterated his stance on meme coins, stating, “I’ve said before that I think the best thing for meme coins is if they can be maximally positive-sum for the world, so it’s great to see moments when that actually happens!”
I appreciate all the memecoins that donate portions of their supply directly to charity.(eg. I saw ebull sent a bunch to various groups last month)Anything that gets sent to me gets donated to charity too (thanks moodeng! The 10B from today is going to anti-airborne-disease…
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) October 7, 2024
Meme coin selling spree
Buterin’s recent selling spree comes amidst the surge in the value of several meme coins. Despite a slow-paced overall market, meme coins are leading the charge with a notable surge.
Several factors are contributing to this rise, including market sentiment. A broader crypto market recovery, often dubbed “Uptober,” has rekindled investor interest in meme coins.
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There’s also an uptick in retail investor interest. Retail traders are driving much of the demand, looking for the next big meme coin success — reminiscent of past surges like those of Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) — which is helping fuel the surge.
Political price pumps
As overall market sentiment improves, traders are looking at meme coins for quick gains, leading to notable price increases among irreverent tokens like Dark Maga and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Both coins surged by over 100% only to plummet in a matter of days.
Meme coins linked to prominent public figures or political movements such as these experience price pumps, but are also among the most volatile.
For example, tokens like MAGA (TRUMP) have surged following recent events involving X.com owner Elon Musk and former President Donald Trump.
Over the past 24 hours, the price of TRUMP has moved by -13.18% and is currently at $4.15.
The 24-hour trading volume for MAGA stands at $9,192,743. Over the past year, the Trump-inspired token has experienced a 33975.93% change in price.
Read more: Aptos surges 20% in 24 hours, open interest reaches 6-month high
