Summary:
- Vitalik Buterin reduced his Ether holdings by around 17,000 ETH this month.
- Wallets tracked by Arkham Intelligence dropped from ~241,000 ETH to ~224,000 ETH.
- Sales were routed through CoW Protocol using smaller swaps.
- Buterin previously earmarked 16,384 ETH (~$45M) to fund privacy and open-source initiatives.
- ETH price declined over 34% during the same period.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has reduced his personal Ether holdings by approximately 17,000 ETH over the past month, following his decision to earmark roughly $45 million worth of tokens for privacy-focused initiatives. Wallets attributed to Buterin and tracked through Arkham Intelligence showed holdings of around 241,000 ETH in early February. That combined balance has since fallen to nearly 224,000 ETH as of this week, reflecting a steady stream of outflows throughout the month. Onchain analysts recently highlighted that the pace of selling picked up in recent days, noting in a public post:
Earlier this month, Buterin had already offloaded roughly 2,961 ETH over a three-day period, valued at about $6.6 million at the time. The sales were executed through decentralized exchange aggregator CoW Protocol and split into multiple smaller transactions rather than a single large trade - a commonly used method designed to limit market impact.
$45M Commitment to Privacy Tech Behind the Move
The ETH sales come after Buterin revealed in January that he had set aside 16,384 Ether from his personal holdings to fund privacy-preserving technologies, open hardware, and secure, verifiable software systems. According to his earlier statements, the capital will be deployed gradually over the coming years as part of a broader effort to support open-source tools aimed at protecting both digital and real-world environments.
Buterin framed the initiative as consistent with the Ethereum Foundation's current period of "mild austerity," adding that he intends to personally take on projects that might otherwise fall under the foundation's remit. His focus includes building a full-stack ecosystem of open-source software and hardware designed to strengthen user sovereignty - an approach that places greater emphasis on privacy infrastructure within the wider Ethereum development roadmap.
ETH Price Slides Amid Ongoing Sales
The selling activity has coincided with a sharp decline in Ether's market value over the past month. Data from CoinMarketCap shows ETH has fallen more than 34% during the same timeframe, with the token trading at $1,889 at the time of writing - down nearly 5% over the past day alone. While it remains unclear how much of the price movement can be directly linked to Buterin's transactions, the timing has drawn attention across the market as traders weigh the implications of large-holder activity against broader macro trends affecting digital assets.
The use of decentralized execution methods such as CoW Protocol also suggests a deliberate attempt to avoid sudden liquidity shocks, allowing the planned funding initiative to proceed without introducing additional volatility into already fragile market conditions.
Closing Thoughts
For now, the reduction in holdings appears tied to long-term development goals rather than a change in outlook on Ethereum itself, as Buterin continues to channel personal resources toward privacy-enhancing technologies within the ecosystem.