TL;DR
- Vitalik Buterin has donated over $500,000 in animal-themed memecoins to the Effective Altruism Funds’ Animal Welfare Fund, transferring 200 Ether (ETH), valued at $532,398.
- Vitalik has advocated for more sophisticated and effective approaches to public goods funding starting in 2024.
- Buterin criticized memecoin projects lacking real purpose, highlighting the value of the Stoner Cats project.
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has made a donation of over $500,000 in animal-themed memecoins to charities focused on animal welfare. On August 15, Buterin revealed on X that he had completed the donation to the Effective Altruism Funds’ Animal Welfare Fund. According to the provided receipt, on August 14, he transferred 200 Ethereum (ETH), valued at $532,398, to the charity fund.
Buterin has urged the memecoin community to send their funds directly to charities, rather than transferring them to him. Additionally, he has proposed that starting in 2024, the approach to public goods funding should be more sophisticated and efficient, suggesting that the community should adopt methods that provide tangible value to society. His call aligns with his criticism of celebrity-backed memecoins, which he considered as experiments without real purpose.
Charity donation done, covering all animal coins from the past year or so!
That said, I appreciate it if coin holdings just get allocated to the charities directly😊
It's 2024, we can start doing more sophisticated public goods fun-ding, eg. see https://t.co/8ZVhwkVwLy pic.twitter.com/RQ1ThdLCYL
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) August 15, 2024
The donation came about through a series of unusual events related to a memecoin project called Neiro on ETH (NEIRO). This project attempted to use Buterin’s name to gain visibility and succeeded in getting him to sell the tokens. Following the sale, the token’s price initially fell by 60%, but then experienced a 200% increase.
Buterin Criticizes Meaningless Memecoin Projects
Vitalik expressed his dissatisfaction with some memecoin projects, based on their lack of substance and purpose. In contrast, he praised the Stoner Cats project by Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, which used NFTs to fund an animated series, highlighting its value and usefulness.
Vitalik’s actions reinforce his stance against superficial uses of cryptocurrencies and promote a more focused approach toward public good and positive societal impact. The Ethereum creator is committed to various causes. It is essential for figures of such significance in the crypto industry to adopt stances like those of Vitalik and support the development of welfare-focused projects.
