An Ethereum address associated with Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of the network, has made a significant transfer of 600 ETH to the popular cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. At the time of writing, this transfer is worth approximately $1 million. This move comes as the crypto markets experienced a downturn last week, causing the price of ETH to drop to $1670 for the first time since June.
The wallet address behind the transfer, known as Vitalik.eth, now holds a balance of 3,933 ETH, equivalent to $6.58 million. Additionally, it contains over $500,000 worth of other tokens, including $300,000 worth of KyberNetwork (KNC) tokens, which are associated with the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol.
Onchain analysts at PeckShield were the first to flag Vitalik’s transfer on Monday. The funds initially went to a multichain address before being resent to an address marked as belonging to Coinbase by Etherscan, a popular blockchain explorer. Notably, a few days prior, Vitalik had sent 0.1 ETH to the same address as a test transfer.
Analysts at Lookonchain observed that Vitalik withdrew 1000 ETH ($1.67 million) from MakerProtocol, a decentralized lending platform, after repaying $257,000 in RAI, a stablecoin. While Vitalik has not provided any specific details about the transfer, such inflows to exchanges are often seen as an indication that investors may be planning to sell their coins for fiat currencies or other cryptocurrencies. It is worth noting that Vitalik has previously acknowledged selling his ETH holdings on multiple occasions, including random memecoins received from donors without solicitation.
Nansen analysts, in a conversation with CoinTelegraph, highlighted that Vitalik’s choice of exchange, Coinbase, is somewhat unusual. They stated that historically, ETH transfers from his wallet have been more commonly directed towards the Kraken exchange. However, without further information, they cannot provide additional insights into the purpose of this particular transfer.
Speculation arose among Twitter users that Vitalik’s transfer to Coinbase may be related to his interest in Friend.Tech, a newly popular social media dapp built on Coinbase’s layer 2 blockchain, Base. This platform allows users to sell shares of specific Twitter accounts and social profiles. Within the past 24 hours, Friend.Tech has generated over $1.42 million in fees, surpassing the popular decentralized exchange Uniswap. Nonetheless, some industry members have expressed caution, suggesting that the app may be a short-lived “pump and dump” scheme.
In summary, an Ethereum address connected to Vitalik Buterin has sent $1 million worth of ETH to Coinbase. This transfer follows a recent market downturn and raises questions about Vitalik’s intentions with his holdings. While some speculate that he may be exploring new blockchain applications, others caution against the potential risks associated with certain emerging platforms. As always, the crypto community eagerly awaits further updates and insights from Vitalik himself.
