Vitalik Buterin carried out a string of large on-chain transactions over roughly 12 hours, with CoW Protocol serving as the main venue. Transaction records show multiple withdrawals and swap-related moves in lots of 142,857 WETH, spaced about two to six hours apart. In return, he received assets including the stablecoin GHO, a shift that quickly drew attention across the crypto market.
Most of the flow was concentrated in CoW Protocol WETH trades
The reported breakdown shows that the main swap transactions averaged about $282,000 to $284,000 each. Within a matter of hours, hundreds of thousands of dollars in Ethereum-based assets changed hands. The pattern described in the source points to deliberate portfolio rebalancing rather than a single isolated sale.
Buterin’s wallet activity extended beyond one protocol. Alongside CoW Protocol, the address also interacted with Aave and Socket, where smaller reallocations involved USDC and other token types. Even so, the bulk of the volume remained centered on the large WETH transactions executed through CoW Protocol.
A 3,500 WETH transfer stood out during the day
One of the most closely watched transactions involved about 3,500 WETH, valued at nearly $7 million. According to the report, those funds left Buterin’s wallet and were used both to update positions on Aave and to send part of his holdings to the Null Address. Such an address is commonly associated with token burns or the permanent removal of assets from circulation.
Another notable move came about six hours earlier, when Buterin acquired roughly $284,000 worth of GHO. Because GHO is a stablecoin, that trade fueled speculation that he may have been raising stable exposure during a volatile period. The source also emphasized that every transfer was visible on-chain, allowing the market to monitor the movements in real time.
Arkham said rapid high-value swaps invite close scrutiny
Arkham said in its reporting that Buterin executed a series of swaps worth several hundred thousand dollars within only a few hours, mainly through decentralized protocols. Given his status in the sector, those fast and high-value transfers were bound to trigger speculation and close analysis.
The transaction set spanned established DeFi networks and included both stable and volatile assets. The source does not provide a confirmed reason behind the reallocations. What is clear from the public records is that Buterin’s large transfers, GHO purchases, Aave updates, and Null Address transfer became one of the most watched Ethereum-linked on-chain developments of the day.