According to data from Arkham Intelligence, Vitalik Buterin liquidated 28 types of memecoins within just five hours, generating nearly $984,000 (in USDC and ETH). The entire amount was transferred to Kanro, a charitable organization he founded.
Notable transactions included selling 500 trillion DINU for $13,208, 50.48 billion ESTEE for $116,306, 92,000 DOGE for $35,233, 80.47 trillion JSHIBA for $21,466, and 698,000 OMIKAMI for $27,895. Other tokens in the liquidation list included FREE, DOBE, PLUTO, and MONKEYS.
Founded by Buterin in 2023, Kanro is a nonprofit organization focused on addressing post-COVID-19 challenges. Recently, he has expanded his philanthropic activities to include the RiseUp Fund, a privacy advocacy organization.
It has become common for projects to send memecoins to Buterin’s “vitalik.eth” wallet as a marketing strategy. Instead of holding onto these tokens, Buterin frequently sells them to fund charitable initiatives. His philosophy is to turn memecoins into tools for public good, supporting low-income individuals and creating a positive societal impact.
Related: Vitalik Buterin Nominated for Nobel Prize
However, Buterin’s large-scale transactions often significantly impact the market, especially smaller-cap tokens. For instance, DINU and JSHIBA dropped by 68% and 38%, respectively, following his sales, highlighting the low liquidity and limited market depth of these memecoins.
This is not the first time Buterin has used memecoins for philanthropy. In 2021, he donated nearly $1 billion to combat COVID-19 in India. In October last year, $884,000 from memecoin sales was allocated to develop airborne transmission prevention technology. Two months ago, he contributed to the Effective Altruism Funds for animal welfare. Notably, last month, Buterin donated 88 ETH to the Khao Kheow Open Zoo and adopted a pygmy hippopotamus named Moo Deng for two years.
