Why Vitalik Buterin is dumping Ether for stablecoins

Crypto wallet identified as Vitalik Buterin sold 190 Ethereum for $441,971 early on Wednesday.
The wallet has sold 950 Ether worth $2.28 million since August 30.
ETH loses 4% of value on September 11.

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, made headlines again for sale of Ether tokens from a wallet associated with him. Lookonchain, a crypto intelligence platform, identified a wallet as Buterin’s and tracked several Ether transfers from the addresses since August 30.

The Ethereum Foundation and Buterin have faced criticism for their Ether sale and transfers to exchanges in the past two months.

Buterin’s wallet sold Ether…again

Vitalik Buterin told crypto traders that he has not sold ETH tokens for a profit since the ICO in 2018. However, recent transactions from an on-chain wallet address associated with the Ethereum co-founder have raised concerns in the ETH holder community.

A wallet address has received 3,800 Ether worth $9.8 million and sold 950 Ether tokens worth $2.28 million at an average price of $2,396 since August 30. Lookonchain data shows that early on Wednesday, Buterin’s wallet sold 190 Ether worth 441,971 USD Coin (USDC).

A wallet related to vitalik.eth(@VitalikButerin) sold 190 $ETH for 441,971 $USDC again 20 minutes ago!

The wallet received 3,800 $ETH($9.8M) from #Vitalik and has sold 950 $ETH($2.28M) at an average price of $2,396 since Aug 30.https://t.co/K6i8Wr8vZ3 pic.twitter.com/GgHvs3gxft
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) September 11, 2024

Repeated Ether transfers from the co-founder are a cause for concern among Ethereum holders as the altcoin struggles under selling pressure. The volume of Ether on exchanges climbed to 21.15 million on September 11, per Santiment data.

A rise in Ether volume on exchanges is indicative of increasing selling pressure and could negatively influence the asset’s price.

Ethereum supply on exchanges vs. price

At the time of writing, Ethereum trades at $2,292, down 4% on the day.

Bitcoin, altcoins, stablecoins FAQs

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, a virtual currency designed to serve as money. This form of payment cannot be controlled by any one person, group, or entity, which eliminates the need for third-party participation during financial transactions.

What are altcoins?

Altcoins are any cryptocurrency apart from Bitcoin, but some also regard Ethereum as a non-altcoin because it is from these two cryptocurrencies that forking happens. If this is true, then Litecoin is the first altcoin, forked from the Bitcoin protocol and, therefore, an “improved” version of it.

What are stablecoins?

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to have a stable price, with their value backed by a reserve of the asset it represents. To achieve this, the value of any one stablecoin is pegged to a commodity or financial instrument, such as the US Dollar (USD), with its supply regulated by an algorithm or demand. The main goal of stablecoins is to provide an on/off-ramp for investors willing to trade and invest in cryptocurrencies. Stablecoins also allow investors to store value since cryptocurrencies, in general, are subject to volatility.

What is Bitcoin Dominance?

Bitcoin dominance is the ratio of Bitcoin's market capitalization to the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies combined. It provides a clear picture of Bitcoin’s interest among investors. A high BTC dominance typically happens before and during a bull run, in which investors resort to investing in relatively stable and high market capitalization cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. A drop in BTC dominance usually means that investors are moving their capital and/or profits to altcoins in a quest for higher returns, which usually triggers an explosion of altcoin rallies.

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