Vitalik Buterin Donates ETH From Moodeng Sale To Charity, Urges Direct Donations

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has sold 10 billion MOODENG tokens and donated over $640,000 in proceeds to his biotech charity fund, Kanro. The move aligns with Buterin’s consistent stance on memecoins, advocating for charitable contributions from token proceeds. This sale of MOODENG, a memecoin launched on Solana, has drawn attention to Vitalik Buterin’s charitable initiatives and the subsequent market reactions.

MOODENG Price Falls 20% After Vitalik Buterin’s 10B Token Sale

According to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain, Vitalik Buterin sold 10 billion MOODENG meme coins for 308.7 ETH, valued at approximately $762,000. From this, Buterin donated 260.15 ETH (around $640,000) to his biotech charity, Kanro. The fund focuses on pandemic solutions, particularly in low-income regions, and Buterin has directed the proceeds toward anti-airborne disease technology.

Following the token sale, MOODENG price experienced a sharp drop of 20%, reacting to Buterin’s transaction. The price of the token reduced to $0.10, which created anxiety among the token holders. Nevertheless, Vitalik Buterin insisted that tokens he receives will be given to charity.

In addition, Vitalik Buterin tweeted that meme coins are most essential when they help in creating value for the world. He also encouraged communities to attempt forming DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) as a way of being more involved in charitable decisions.

Buterin’s involvement in charitable donations from token sales has become a notable aspect of his public stance on cryptocurrency. In the same tweet, Buterin emphasized his preference for meme coins to donate directly to charity, saying,

“Anything that gets sent to me gets donated to charity, though I truly prefer if you guys send to charity directly.” 

He also acknowledged the positive effects of such initiatives, especially when they align with larger societal benefits.

I appreciate all the memecoins that donate portions of their supply directly to charity.

(eg. I saw ebull sent a bunch to various groups last month)

Anything that gets sent to me gets donated to charity too (thanks moodeng! The 10B from today is going to anti-airborne-disease…

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) October 7, 2024

Buterin’s Continued Support For Tornado Cash And Ethereum Ecosystem

Apart from the MOODENG sale, the Ethereum co-founder has also supported legal defense efforts for the developers of Tornado Cash. Vitalik Buterin recently sold other meme coins, including NEIRO and MOODENG, donating the proceeds to the “Free Alexey & Roman” campaign. This donation aims to defend the Tornado Cash developers by raising funds for their upcoming trial in New York.

Apart from his charitable activities, the Ethereum co-founder has been at the forefront of Ethereum ecosystem development. Most recently,  Vitalik Buterin endorsed Optimism’s SuperchainERC20 update, introducing a new cross-chain interface to enhance scalability and interoperability for Ethereum’s layer-2 solutions. The update described in the GitHub pull request consists of the ICrosschainERC20 interface integration, aimed at increasing cross-chain neutrality and collaboration.

Moreover, Buterin has proposed reducing Ethereum staking requirements to make the network more accessible. He suggested lowering the minimum staking threshold from 32 ETH to 16 ETH, with a long-term goal of reducing it to 1 ETH.