Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Ethereum, moved over US$E0 million in ETH this month to fund the Ethereum Foundation and his philanthropic project. According to data from Arkham Intelligence, things are quite transparent when you look at the chain.

The founder sold 17,196 ETH between January and February, reducing his holdings by approximately 7%. Before the sale, his holdings reached over 240,000 ETH. Now they are around 224,000. Does that seem like a lot? It’s better contextualized when you know that in 2015, Buterin accumulated as much as 663,000 ETH. Since then, his stash has decreased by more than 60%.

But here’s the interesting detail: none of this is for personal use. The Ethereum creator has a well-defined pattern with these movements. He himself commented on being in "light austerity" during the recent price drop that brought ETH below US$2,000. Now the price has recovered to US$2.33K, but the logic remains.

The funds were directed with precision. Buterin transferred 211,841 ETH wrapped via CoW Protocol and Wintermute, resulting in exactly 500,000 USDC sent to Kanro, his biotechnology organization that funds open-source biomedical research and works on existential risks.

Historically, the Ethereum founder has always linked his major token sales to philanthropic efforts. In January 2025, he sold meme tokens for US$2.5 million and donated to Kanro. Long before, in 2021, he transferred US$1.2 billion in SHIB to COVID-19 relief initiatives in India. The current sales follow exactly this pattern.

According to Arkham, Buterin still holds about US$E0 million in ETH and aETH, divided between direct holdings and positions in Aave. The Ethereum creator remains one of the largest accumulators of ether, but he clearly sees his positions as tools to fund infrastructure and causes that matter.