Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin recently got rid of a bunch of meme coins, selling a mix of lesser-known and fake tokens. According to data from OnChain Lens, Buterin made 315,382 DAI and sold a bunch of meme tokens, converting them into a total of 71.69 ETH, which is about $136,684.
He sold 146.18 billion FML for 2.51 ETH, 7.17 billion VB for 1.57 ETH and 366.47 million AWESOME for 1.44 ETH. But the most interesting transaction was when he sold 180.88 billion SHIB for just 0.987 ETH.
If you are wondering why Vitalik sold 180.88 billion SHIB tokens — worth an estimated $2.2 million if they were real Shiba Inu (SHIB) — for less than a single ETH, the explanation is both simple and revealing. These tokens are not the real deal, they are imitations of the actual Shiba Inu (SHIB) token. That is a popular cryptocurrency inspired by memes that has gained a cultlike following since it was created.
Vitalik Buterin and Shiba Inu (SHIB)
The irony here is in the complicated history between Buterin and the legit Shiba Inu token. Back in 2021, creators of Shiba Inu sent half of the token’s total supply to Buterin’s wallet as a marketing stunt to add credibility and allure.
Buterin, instead of holding, donated a portion to the India COVID-Crypto Relief Fund and burned the rest, reducing its circulating supply significantly. Now, it looks like Buterin is trying to distance herself from any projects that might be seen as imitative or trying to capitalize on SHIB’s popularity.
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This seems to be a common issue in the crypto space, where imitation assets use the success of established projects to gain attention. Buterin’s actions might be an effort to separate herself from these speculative assets that do not have much real value.
