Another Vitalik Buterin funded wallet dumps 1,300 ETH in 11 days

A wallet linked to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has been active recently, selling over $3 million worth of ether (ETH) in just 11 days. According to analytics platform Spot On Chain, a notable transaction occurred on September 30, when 649 ETH, approximately $1.72 million, was transferred to cryptocurrency exchange Paxos. This sale followed a series of transactions initiated after Buterin funded the wallet in question.

The wallet, identified as “0x556,” received 1,300 ETH (valued at $3.21 million) on September 19 from another wallet, “0xd04,” which is believed to be controlled by Buterin. This wallet had previously been funded by Buterin in 2022 with a substantial transfer of 70,000 ETH.

Historically, these wallets have exchanged funds before, with “0xd04” sending 2,000 ETH (worth $5.265 million) and another 999 ETH (valued at $2.63 million) in September 2023 alone. A prior transfer of 1,701 ETH (approximately $4.47 million) also took place the month before, bringing the total ether received to nearly 6,000 ETH.

While “0x556” has not been officially confirmed as Buterin’s wallet, speculation around its ownership has increased due to these transactions, particularly following a post on September 12, 2023, where Spot On Chain suggested Buterin’s involvement in transferring over 2,000 ETH to crypto exchange Bitstamp.

While many observers speculate that Vitalik Buterin’s recent transfers could be profit-driven, he has firmly denied these claims, stating that he hasn’t sold ETH for personal gains since 2018. Concerns arose earlier this month when another wallet that received 3,800 ETH from Buterin in August began offloading the funds through multiple transactions. However, Buterin clarified that these sales were executed by a “bio-defense group” he supports.

He emphasized that all ETH sales linked to him are intended to either fund valuable projects within the Ethereum ecosystem or support philanthropic efforts.

In addition to the community’s apprehensions regarding these sell-offs, Buterin has faced criticism for allegedly having too much influence over Ethereum’s governance. Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson compared Ethereum’s governance model to a “dictatorship,” suggesting that Buterin’s key decisions drive the direction of the network. This criticism highlights ongoing debates within the crypto community about governance and the decentralization of power among influential figures.