Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin sold 17,196 ETH across January and early February, worth roughly $35 million, according to on-chain data cited by Arkham Intelligence. The sales reduced his ether holdings from more than 240,000 ETH at the start of 2026 to about 224,000 ETH, a decline of around 7%.
Arkham links the sales to funding needs, not personal spending
The reported sales came during a period Buterin described as “mild austerity,” with proceeds intended to support the Ethereum Foundation and his biotech nonprofit. Arkham said the reduction fits his longer funding pattern rather than personal expenditure.
His ETH balance once peaked at nearly 663,000 ETH in 2015. Since then, that total has fallen by more than 60%. The article notes that these drawdowns have been tied over time to philanthropy and support for core Ethereum development.
A 16,384 ETH transaction surfaced from a Gnosis Safe Proxy wallet
Arkham tracked one major transfer that Buterin announced on January 30, involving 16,384 ETH. The movement became visible on-chain several days later. The transaction originated from a Gnosis Safe Proxy wallet.
Buterin had previously said the sales represented “his own share of the austerity.” Those remarks came after ether fell below $2,000. The reported use of funds was tied to Ethereum’s long-term sustainability and core protocol development.
211.841 WETH was swapped and 500,000 USDC reached Kanro
On February 2, Buterin also transferred 211.841 WETH into CoW Protocol. The trade was routed through Wintermute, and it resulted in exactly 500,000 USDC being sent to Kanro’s wallet. Public disclosures described Kanro as Buterin’s biotech charity focused on open-source biomedical research and existential-risk work.
Arkham said Buterin still holds about $450 million in ETH and AETHWETH, split between direct holdings and positions deposited on Aave. The latest ETH sales match his earlier behavior of converting tokens for charitable causes and long-term initiatives. The report also pointed to a $2.5 million meme-token sale in January 2025 that was donated to Kanro, and a $1.2 billion SHIB donation in 2021 to India COVID relief efforts.