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Dunja is an English Literature graduate with years of experience as a writer and translator. She doesn't mind diving into as many reports and numbers as she can—especially about topics like crypto that still need some translating to the public—’cause she loves to get the message across. When she's not working, you'll find her running wild with her pack of dogs, playing board games, or bingeing on pop science videos.
February 17th, 2023
Vitalik Buterin’s net worth is kept in crypto—almost entirely in Ether. Even as crypto undergoes a bear market, the Ethereum platform continues to develop moving on to proof of stake. It also provides the framework for the most interesting developments in crypto such as DeFi, NFTs, and stablecoins. So the co-founder keeps his money in the project he believes in. But how much money is that? Read on and find out.
What Is Vitalik Buterin’s Net Worth?
Vitalik Buterin is worth $320 million at the time of writing and Ether being valued at $1,286. This estimation of Buterin’s net worth is based on his public crypto wallet in which he keeps the majority of his funds.
(Etherscan)
Details about Vitalik Buterin’s Crypto Holdings, Donations, and More
With cryptocurrencies fluctuating in response to economic and technological changes, the net worth of crypto holders changes as well. So while $320 million is the easy answer, it is important to take a look at the history of the Ethereum founder’s net worth to get the whole picture.
Vitalik Buterin’s Ethereum holdings are currently at 250,001 ETH.
While Vitalik Buterin has several wallets, his main wallet contains by far the highest number of Ether. While he doesn’t move funds frequently, on November 24, 2022, he moved 40,000 ETH to another address, bringing Vitalik Buterin’s net worth in late 2022 to 250,001 ETH or $320 million.
(Etherscan)
Buterin used to be a billionaire, but he is currently not.
Vitalik’s net worth exceeded $1 billion in early May 2021 for the first time. It has been fluctuating with the value of ether since, peaking at $1.5 billion on November 13, 2021 when ether was at $4,645 and he had 325,000 ETH in his crypto wallet.
(Forbes)
Vitalik Buterin has other crypto holdings, however, much lower in value.
In the two known wallets, the mathematics prodigy owns other tokens besides Ether, including KNC, OMG, 0xBTC, and DAI. Also, in an AMA Reddit post several years ago, he revealed he had other crypto holdings including BTC. He also disclosed owning shares of Clearmatics, a blockchain company where he also serves as an advisor, and Starkware, a company specializing in cryptography. He did not specify how many shares he had in each.
(Etherscan, Reddit)
Shiba Inu creators sent Buterin 50% of all the SHIB tokens.
Buterin’s crypto holdings have also included memecoins that he did not actually want or ask for. Vitalik Buterin’s Shiba burn became famous as he destroyed 90% of the coins sent to him (worth about $8 billion at the time) and donated the rest. At the coin’s peak value, the burned coins would have been worth $32.5 billion. However, Buterin burned the coins quickly saying he did not want to be a locus of that kind of power.
(Business Insider)
Buterin donated over 50 trillion SHIB to CryptoRelief to help solve the covid crisis in India.
Vitalik Buterin’s Shiba donation would have exceeded $1 billion at the time, however, its staggering amount could not be in the same way as fiat donations, due to regulations and price fluctuations. The donation started a conversation about crypto philanthropy and regulations.
(Business Insider)
Vitalik owns 0.20742967% of Ether, having the 26th largest Ether account.
Despite being a co-founder of the platform, for the Ethereum creator, net worth increase is not the main driver. He has been more focused on what the technology can bring beyond monetary value, including banking the unbanked and enabling smart contracts. The richest Ethereum holders are mostly exchanges and some other accounts.
(Etherscan)
Final Thoughts
To sum up, Vitalik Buterin’s net worth is almost completely in crypto, meaning that its value fluctuates quite significantly. The current value of Buterin’s 250,001 ETH is $320 million, with other crypto holdings being drastically less valuable.
Dunja is an English Literature graduate with years of experience as a writer and translator. She doesn't mind diving into as many reports and numbers as she can—especially about topics like crypto that still need some translating to the public—’cause she loves to get the message across. When she's not working, you'll find her running wild with her pack of dogs, playing board games, or bingeing on pop science videos.
Dunja is an English Literature graduate with years of experience as a writer and translator. She doesn't mind diving into as many reports and numbers as she can—especially about topics like crypto that still need some translating to the public—’cause she loves to get the message across. When she's not working, you'll find her running wild with her pack of dogs, playing board games, or bingeing on pop science videos.