Why Is Vitalik Buterin Selling ETH? $13M+ Dumped in 4 Days

Vitalik Buterin has been selling ETH, and the pace is picking up. On-chain data from Lookonchain and CoinMarketCap shows that the Ethereum co-founder sold 6,183 ETH, worth roughly $13.24 million, over four days in early February 2026, routing it through CoW Protocol in small batches at an average price of $2,140 per ETH. But this isn't a rage quit. It's a planned deployment of personal funds toward open-source security, privacy tech, biotech, and AI safety, announced publicly by Buterin himself on January 30.

What Did Buterin Actually Say?

On January 30, 2026, Buterin posted on X that he had withdrawn 16,384 ETH from his personal holdings, which at the time were valued at approximately $43-45 million. His stated reason: funding projects across finance, communication, governance, blockchains, operating systems, secure hardware, and biotech, with a heavy emphasis on self-sovereignty, security, and privacy.

According to CoinDesk's reporting, Buterin described this as a personal contribution to Ethereum's development goals during what he called a period of "mild austerity" for the Ethereum Foundation. In his own words: "For this reason I have just withdrawn 16,384 ETH, which will be deployed toward these goals over the next few years."

Multi-year deployment. Not a weekend fire sale.

Where Is the Money Going?

The first confirmed transaction came on February 2, when a wallet associated with Buterin sold 211.84 ETH for 500,000 USDC via a DEX swap. That USDC was transferred directly to Kanro, a biotech-focused organization that Buterin founded in 2023. Kanro supports research on COVID-19, future pandemics, global health, AI safety, and open-source projects. According to KuCoin, the organization has received over $87 million in crypto donations since launch.

Over the following days, Lookonchain highlighted an additional 493 ETH sold, bringing the total to 704.84 ETH (around $1.63 million) between February 2-3, as reported by BeInCrypto. Portions were routed to multisig wallets and smart contracts linked to charitable entities, including Kanro and groups focused on AI safety, biotech, and open-source development.

How Much Has Actually Been Sold?

This is where the numbers get messy. Different trackers report different totals depending on whether they include wrapped ETH conversions or only outright sales, and the figures keep climbing.

Lookonchain's initial tracking on February 5 reported 2,961 ETH worth $6.6 million sold over three days at an average of $2,228 per ETH. Hours later, CoinMarketCap updated the total to 6,183 ETH sold for $13.24 million at an average of $2,140, with ETH dipping below $2,000 during the sell-off. DL News reported cumulative sales of nearly $7 million at the earlier mark.

A multisig address linked to Buterin sold 4,521.59 ETH worth $9.939 million at an average price of $2,202.44 per ETH via Cowswap, according to on-chain analyst Ai Yi (tracked via Blockchaindotnews). Arkham Intelligence data reported by Cryptopolitan showed the wallet executing multiple sale orders in batches of 70.313 WETH through CowSwap.

On the higher end, Yahoo Finance and Finbold reported conversions and sales involving 13,217-13,220 ETH (approximately $29-33 million), though that figure includes conversions to wETH rather than pure sell-offs. Of that larger pool, around $2.3 million in ETH was reportedly sold outright, with additional portions transferred to Kanro.

OnchainLens, as reported by BlockBeats, also flagged 1,441 ETH worth $3.3 million sold over two days, with 704 ETH swapped into stablecoins like GHO and USDC in batches of roughly 211 ETH every two hours.

The discrepancies likely come down to differences in tracking methodology, whether wETH wrapping counts as a "sale," and which wallets get attributed to Buterin across platforms. But the clearest picture as of February 5: at least 6,183 ETH ($13.24 million) in confirmed sales, with the multisig wallet alone accounting for 4,521 ETH ($9.9 million). That puts Buterin roughly 27.6% through the 16,384 ETH he earmarked in January.

Should ETH Holders Be Worried?

The sales happened while ETH was already under pressure, trading between $1,972 and $2,270 during the period and briefly dipping below $2,000, well below its all-time high. Sources note that the trades were deliberately split into smaller batches via the CoW Protocol to minimize market impact, consistent with how large holders typically operate when they're not trying to tank the price.

This aligns with a pattern Buterin has maintained for years. He's been transparent about his intention to donate the majority of his ETH holdings to scientific research, open-source development, AI safety, biotech, and public-goods initiatives. The January 30 announcement wasn't a surprise. It was a heads-up.

The funding targets, from privacy-preserving technologies to open hardware and verifiable software, are core to Ethereum's roadmap and broader crypto infrastructure. This isn't insider dumping.

What Happens Next?

Buterin said the withdrawn 16,384 ETH would be deployed "over the next few years." With roughly 6,183 ETH already sold in the first four days, the early pace is faster than a multi-year timeline might suggest. Expect periodic sales in controlled batches to continue, with proceeds funding everything from Kanro's biotech research to privacy tools, open-source infrastructure, and secure hardware development.

For those tracking Buterin's wallets on-chain: more transactions are coming. That's by design, not by panic.

For more on Vitalik Buterin's public announcements, follow him on X at @VitalikButerin.

Sources:

• Vitalik Buterin on X (January 30, 2026) — Original announcement of 16,384 ETH withdrawal and multi-year funding plan
• CoinDesk — Reporting on Buterin's announcement and Ethereum Foundation's "mild austerity" period
• Yahoo Finance (Withdrawal) — Coverage of the 16,384 ETH withdrawal and aggregated conversion figures of 13,217-13,220 ETH
• Yahoo Finance (700 ETH Sales) — Details on 704.84 ETH sold and Kanro transfer via Lookonchain data
• Lookonchain on X (February 2, 2026) — On-chain tracking of the February 2 Kanro transfer (211.84 ETH for 500,000 USDC)
• TradingView / Cointelegraph — Reporting on initial 2,961 ETH sold for $6.6 million via CoW Protocol at $2,228 average
• CoinMarketCap on X (February 5, 2026) — Updated total of 6,183 ETH sold for $13.24 million at $2,140 average, per Lookonchain data
• BlockBeats via Bitget — OnchainLens monitoring data: 1,441 ETH sold over two days worth $3.297 million, linked to Buterin's multi-year donation plan
• Blockchain.news (OnchainLens) — 704 ETH swapped into GHO and USDC in ~211 ETH batches every two hours
• Blockchain.news (Ai Yi / @ai_9684xtpa) — Multisig wallet data showing 4,521.59 ETH sold at $2,202.44 average via Cowswap
• Binance Square — Reporting on 1,441 ETH sold by Buterin-linked wallet
• Cryptopolitan — Arkham Intelligence data showing WETH sales in batches of 70.313 via CowSwap, Kanro donation details
• DL News — Cumulative sales figure of nearly $7 million and ETH price context
• Finbold — Aggregated figure of 13,220 ETH ($33 million) including conversions, via Arkham Intelligence data
• KuCoin — Data on Kanro receiving over $87 million in crypto donations since launch
• BeInCrypto — Confirmation of the February 2-3 sales and Kanro transfer via Lookonchain