SKN | Vitalik Buterin Sells 17,000 ETH as Ethereum Price Drops 37%

Key Points

• Vitalik Buterin reduced his ether holdings by roughly 17,000 ETH, valued at about $43 million.

• The transactions were executed in multiple small trades via CoW Protocol as ether fell 37% over the past month.

• Ether’s decline and lower staking yields are increasing unrealized losses for large corporate holders.

Buterin Trims ETH Position

Vitalik Buterin has reduced his ether holdings by approximately 17,000 ETH this month, an amount worth around $43 million at recent prices.

On-chain data from Arkham Intelligence shows wallets attributed to Buterin held roughly 241,000 ETH at the beginning of February. That balance has since fallen to about 224,000 ETH following a steady stream of outflows.

The transactions were reportedly routed through CoW Protocol and broken into smaller trades rather than executed as a single large sale.

Timing Aligns With Market Weakness

The sales come during a difficult stretch for Ethereum. Ether has fallen roughly 37% over the past month, recently trading near $1,900.

Earlier in January, Buterin had pledged a similar amount of ETH to support privacy and security-focused initiatives. The current reduction in holdings closely mirrors that earlier earmarked figure.

Over the course of February, outflows included about $6.6 million over a three-day period earlier in the month and an additional roughly $7 million in the most recent three days.

Broader Impact on Large Holders

Ether’s decline is also putting pressure on institutional and corporate holders.

Compressed staking yields — currently hovering near 2.8% — have reduced the income cushion for large treasuries holding ETH. Firms such as Bitmine Immersion Technologies, which accumulated billions of dollars worth of ether, are facing deep unrealized losses amid the downturn.

While Buterin’s sales represent a relatively small portion of his total holdings, the timing underscores the broader stress in the crypto market as liquidity tightens and risk appetite fades.

The combination of price weakness, lower staking returns and high-profile wallet activity is likely to keep ether under close scrutiny in the weeks ahead.