What Is Vitalik Buterin's Net Worth?

Vitalik Buterin's on-chain net worth is approximately $462 million as of February 20, 2026, according to data from blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence. That number is almost entirely driven by one asset: ETH. With Ethereum trading near $1,947 today, the co-founder's fortune has dropped significantly from highs above $1 billion just six months ago. But if you've followed Buterin's career for any length of time, you know the man behind Ethereum has never seemed particularly bothered by price swings.

How Much ETH Does Vitalik Hold?

According to Arkham Intelligence data, Buterin's known wallets contain roughly 224,106 ETH, worth about $436.4 million at current prices. He also holds approximately 12,360 AETHWETH (Aave-wrapped ETH), adding another $24 million.

Together, ETH and ETH-related assets make up over 94% of his known crypto portfolio. The rest is scattered across smaller positions: 10 billion WHITE tokens (~$871,000), 700,009 KNC (~$95,600), 30 billion MOODENG (~$170,000), some LUSD, ENS, and over 100 minor token holdings that add up to roughly $25,000 combined.

Many of those smaller tokens, especially memecoins like MOODENG, SHIB, and PEPE, were not purchased. They were sent to his public wallets as unsolicited airdrops. Buterin has historically burned or donated these tokens rather than selling them to avoid fueling speculation.

Why Do Estimates Vary So Much?

If you've searched this question recently, you've probably seen wildly different numbers. That's normal.

In late January 2026, several outlets placed Buterin's net worth between $717 million and $760 million, back when ETH was trading considerably higher. By early February, BingX reported approximately $558 million with ETH at $2,273. As ETH continued to slide into mid-February, the figure settled around $462 million.

The core issue is simple. Over 99% of Buterin's known wealth is in ETH. When the price moves, his net worth moves with it in near real time. A 10% swing in ETH price means roughly a $44 million swing in Buterin's portfolio.

There's also the question of what we can't see. On-chain analytics only track wallets publicly linked to Buterin. Any off-chain holdings, such as cash, real estate, or private equity, aren't included in these estimates. He holds early equity in StarkWare, the zero-knowledge proof firm that hit an $8 billion valuation during its 2022 Series D round. That alone could add significant value to the on-chain floor.

How Has His Net Worth Changed Over Time?

The Price Rollercoaster

Buterin's wealth has followed ETH's volatile price history almost perfectly. Here are the key milestones:

• December 31, 2015: $596,760 in known crypto wealth
• End of 2017: $278.37 million during the bull run
• December 2022: Dropped to ~$300 million at the bear market bottom
• Mid-2025: Crossed $1 billion when ETH hit all-time highs near $5,000
• December 2025: Stabilized around $467 million after market correction
• February 2026: Sits at ~$462 million with ETH near $1,947

That kind of volatility is part of the deal when your entire net worth is effectively a single asset.

Where Did the ETH Go?

His ETH balance has also declined over time, from peaks above 300,000 ETH to around 224,000 today. Much of that decrease happened recently.

In late January 2026, Buterin withdrew 16,384 ETH (~$45 million) to personally fund open-source security, privacy, and biotech projects as the Ethereum Foundation entered what he called a period of "mild austerity."

Then in early February, he sold an additional ~2,961 ETH (~$6.6 million) for donations to AI safety programs, biotech research, and public goods, plus another 493 ETH with $500,000 in proceeds going to Kanro, his biotech charity focused on pandemic prevention.

Where Does He Rank?

Arkham ranks Buterin as the sixth-richest known individual crypto holder in its 2026 list, behind figures like Satoshi Nakamoto and Justin Sun. He is also the largest identifiable individual ETH holder with actual access to their coins. Estonian banker Rain Lohmus technically holds around 250,000 ETH from the 2014 ICO, but those funds are believed to be permanently inaccessible due to lost private keys.

What Makes Buterin's Approach Different?

The decreases in Buterin's ETH balance aren't from profit-taking. In 2018, he publicly stated he hadn't sold ETH for personal gain since that year, clarifying that transfers to exchanges were for donations. On-chain data from his known wallets shows no evidence of large-scale personal profit-taking, consistent with that claim.

His philanthropic track record backs that up. In 2021, he donated $1.14 billion worth of SHIB tokens to India's COVID relief fund and sent $336 million in Dogelon Mars tokens to the Methuselah Foundation for life extension research. He burned 410 trillion SHIB tokens, worth roughly $6 billion at the time, to permanently remove them from circulation.

Buterin has repeatedly pushed back against the "billionaire" label and has emphasized that building Ethereum matters more to him than accumulating personal wealth. The man still shows up to conferences in holey socks. That part of the story hasn't changed.

For the latest real-time tracking of Buterin's holdings, you can check Arkham Intelligence. Follow Vitalik on X at @VitalikButerin.

Sources:

• Arkham Intelligence — Detailed investigation into Vitalik Buterin's net worth and on-chain holdings (updated 2026)
• Arkham Intelligence — The 10 richest on-chain crypto individuals ranking (January 2026)
• Arkham Intelligence — Live Vitalik Buterin portfolio dashboard (February 19, 2026 snapshot)
• CCN — Vitalik Buterin net worth explained, 10 years after Ethereum's launch (July 2025)
• The Block — Buterin commits ~$45M in ETH to open-source projects (January 2026)
• Yahoo Finance/Decrypt — Buterin moves $29M ETH, balance drops to 227,268 ETH (February 2026)