Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has captured the attention of market analysts by executing transfers worth approximately 29 million dollars in ETH. According to data from Arkham Intelligence, these Vitalik Buterin’s movements respond to the urgent need to financially support the Ethereum Foundation, which has recently entered a period of mild austerity.
This mobilization of capital occurs in a context of high volatility, where the lead programmer converted 13,217 ETH into Wrapped Ethereum (wETH) to facilitate various liquidity operations. Despite these partial sales, Buterin still maintains a substantial fortune, estimated at over 227,000 ETH, which represents a market valuation near 498.5 million dollars at the time of writing.
Foundation austerity and criticism of the layer 2 ecosystem
The decision to withdraw personal funds to sustain the development of the main protocol coincides with a 30% drop in the currency’s price over the last week. On the other hand, Vitalik Buterin’s movements have not only been financial but also strategic, following his open criticism of the current roadmap regarding layer 2 networks.
The developer has suggested that the original scalability approach no longer makes sense, advocating for a new path that relies less on external secondary networks. Likewise, part of the transferred funds went to Kanro, a biotech firm founded by him in 2023, demonstrating that his financial activity diversifies beyond the strict maintenance of the mainnet code.
What impact do these sales have on investor confidence?
Despite the magnitude of the figures, the technical community interprets these actions as a necessary step to ensure the continuity of core researchers and developers. As the cryptocurrency is an infrastructure in constant evolution, foundation disbursements are vital to fund the upgrades that Buterin considers critical for the future of native protocol scalability.
In addition, the founder has countered speculation about massive sales for purely speculative purposes, clarifying that outgoing transfers from official wallets are usually payments for services. According to recent reports, this transparency seeks to mitigate panic in a market that is already under pressure due to global asset liquidations and ongoing regulatory uncertainty across the sector.
Looking ahead, the ecosystem is expected to adopt deep structural changes if Buterin’s proposals regarding a lower reliance on layer 2 solutions gain traction. While the price of ETH remains near 2,090 dollars, the solidity of Vitalik Buterin’s movements and his personal commitment suggest that the project’s technical foundation remains the top priority over commercial fluctuations.
