ETH Founder Buterin’s $100 Mln Shiba Inu Fund Backs Anti-COVID Efforts
In May 2021, Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin donated over $1.5 billion in cryptocurrencies to help India in the fight against Covid-19. The grant included around 50 trillion Shiba Inu (SHIB) tokens and 500 ETH tokens.
As per reports, over $400 million worth of SHIB tokens were sold to utilise the fund over health related projects. However, $100 million worth of SHIB tokens were reportedly sent back to the Buterin at the beginning of 2022. The Ethereum co-founder moved this fund to create a new charity body named Balvi.
Balvi has now rolled out its first round of grants, according to the Ethereum founder.
Balvi gives grants to anti-COVID efforts
ETH co-founder as a major advocate of decentralisation. In a post, Buterin suggests that the future of bio defence is decentralized, open, and collaborative.
Buterin aims to use this trust to work on Covid science and support other relied projects. He shared some updates regarding the first round of funding recipients of this fund. Rapid Deployment Vaccine Collaborative (RaDVac) has received the first round of funding of $2.5 million from Balvi.
Rapid Deployment Vaccine Collaborative (RadVac) has received the first round of funding of $2.5 million from Balvi. The projects focus on the open source Covid vaccine R&D. The firm will be using this fund to develop vaccines worldwide in an easy manner to close down the access gap.
In this bid, another Open Source project to develop UV lamps to kill the virus also received the grant. The UVGI project has been able to send kits to three countries with different modifications. Buterin shared that another trust has received $3 million in donations to research on Long Covid symptoms.
ETH founder concerned over surging gas fees
Much anticipated Ethereum merge date or ETH 2.0 saw a delay till the 3rd quarter of the year. Recently, Buterin raised concern over Ethereum layer-1 transaction fees. He believes that ETH gas fees should go down to $0.05 to become more acceptable.
- Arthur Hayes Says Bitcoin Is On ‘Sale’ Following Decline To Four-Month Low
- Breaking: Trump Says China Tariffs Will Not Stand Amid Crypto Market Crash
- Breaking: French Regulators Investigate Binance Over Alleged Money Laundering Concerns
- Is Crypto Market Headed for a Big Crash as $5.72B in Bitcoin, Ethereum Options Expires Today?
- Bitwise Solana ETP Crosses $100M AUM Milestone as DeFi Dev Corp Buys the SOL Dip
- Bitcoin Price Prediction as Gold Becomes World’s Second Largest Reserve Asset After Parabolic Rally
- 3 Altcoins Defying the Market Momentum In October 2025
- Ethereum Price Prediction: Analyst Identifies MACD Bearish Pattern Despite $417M BitMine Buy
- Analyst Predicts XRP Price Crash to $2 as Open Interest Falls, Death Cross Nears
- Dogecoin Price Eyes $0.40 Rally as Thumzup Integration Boosts Utility
- Pi Coin Price Gears for Recovery as DEX and AMM Launch Revives Utility Hopes
Why Trust CoinGape
CoinGape has covered the cryptocurrency industry since 2017, aiming to provide informative insights Read more…to our readers. Our journal analysts bring years of experience in market analysis and blockchain technology to ensure factual accuracy and balanced reporting. By following our Editorial Policy, our writers verify every source, fact-check each story, rely on reputable sources, and attribute quotes and media correctly. We also follow a rigorous Review Methodology when evaluating exchanges and tools. From emerging blockchain projects and coin launches to industry events and technical developments, we cover all facets of the digital asset space with unwavering commitment to timely, relevant information.
