TL;DR
- Vitalik Buterin transferred 3,000 ETH (worth $8 million) to a multi-signature wallet, sparking speculation about a potential donation.
- Multi-signature wallets enhance security by requiring multiple private keys for transactions, highlighting Buterin’s commitment to privacy and security.
- Buterin has a history of significant crypto donations, including over $1.2 billion to the Indian Covid-Crypto Relief Fund and other substantial contributions.
Vitalik Buterin is in the news again after transferring 3,000 Ether (ETH) to a multi-signature safe wallet, which was worth about $8 million at the time. This move made just a few hours ago, has sparked a lot of curiosity and chatter among crypto enthusiasts.
The process began with a Buterin-linked wallet transferring 0.1 ETH to a new wallet for testing purposes. Following this, the wallet sent a substantial amount of 3,000 ETH.
vitalik.eth transferred 3,000 $ETH($8.05M) to a multi-sig safe wallet 20 mins ago, possibly as a donation.https://t.co/pw8ekIYSs1https://t.co/DW4Nhmbb6Z pic.twitter.com/7Y4Dx12cDP
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) August 9, 2024
According to data from Look On Chain, this transfer might be a potential donation from Buterin. The transaction incurred around 0.1 ETH in gas fees, roughly $270, as per Etherscan.
Multi-Sig Wallets: Enhancing Security
Multi-signature (multi-sig) wallets are known for their advanced security features, requiring multiple private keys to access or transfer cryptocurrency assets. Buterin’s use of a multi-sig wallet underscores his commitment to privacy and security in the crypto space.
Currently, the vitalik.eth wallet holds just over 400 ETH, valued at around $1 million. On August 5, this wallet’s total holdings were reported to be 245,233 ETH, with a market value of $571.72 million. On the same day, Buterin sold all 17.145 billion Neiro tokens he received from the Neiro team, converting them to 44.53 ETH, equivalent to $112.5K at the time.
At the time of writing, Ethereum (ETH) continues to recover from Monday’s massive drop, increasing nearly 8% in the last 24 hours and trading at around the $2,600 mark, according to CoinMarketCap.
Vitalik Buterin’s Recent ETH Donations
This isn’t the first time Buterin has made significant transfers to multi-sig wallets, often suspected to be donations. In July, he donated 100 ETH to 2077 Collective, a community-based organization promoting Ethereum adoption.
A transfer worth around $300,000 was directed to a multi-signature wallet. Earlier, Buterin had backed the legal defense of Tornado Cash developers Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm by contributing 30 ETH. These contributions were made from the vitalik.eth address on May 30.
Buterin’s History of Crypto Donations
Buterin has a history of making substantial cryptocurrency donations. In May 2021, he donated over $1.2 billion worth of crypto to the Indian Covid-Crypto Relief Fund, including over 50 trillion Shiba Inu (SHIB) tokens.
He has also sent over $441 million worth of Akita (AKITA) coins to Gitcoin, an open-source bug bounty platform, and has previously donated significant amounts of dog-themed memecoins.
Vitalik Buterin’s recent transfer of $8 million worth of Ether to a multi-sig wallet continues his pattern of significant and strategic crypto movements.
Whether this transfer is a prelude to another major donation or a strategic security measure, it highlights Buterin’s ongoing influence and activity in the cryptocurrency world.
