Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has sold thousands of ETH in recent days as the token fell below $2,000, according to on-chain data from Lookonchain. His sales added to the broader wave of large-holder selling that has pushed ETH to multi-month lows and intensified downward pressure across the market.
Lookonchain reported that on February 5, wallets linked to Buterin sold 2,961 ETH, worth roughly $6.6 million at an average price of about $2,228. Less than 24 hours later, total sales over the same three-day period had risen to 6,183 ETH, or approximately $13.2 million, with an average exit price near $2,140 as ETH continued to slide.
Some of the proceeds were redirected for philanthropic purposes. Buterin transferred around $500,000 from the sale of 212 ETH on February 2 to Kanro, a fund supporting open-source biomedical research. The organization confirmed the transfer, noting that the funds will support anti-airborne-disease and pandemic-related projects. Buterin has been contributing to similar causes for nearly three years, including a $20 million personal donation in October 2025.
In a recent post on X, Buterin explained that he withdrew 16,384 ETH to fund work in biotech, secure hardware, privacy-focused software, and other areas outside Ethereum’s core protocol. He described the moves as part of tighter spending measures at the Ethereum Foundation.
Ethereum has struggled over the past week, falling below the $2,100 level seen as key support and underperforming Bitcoin amid waning risk appetite across altcoins. At the time of writing, ETH was trading around $1,900, down about 7% in 24 hours and over 30% in the past week. On-chain data suggests that institutional investors and whales are contributing to the selling pressure. A CryptoQuant report from February 5 shows U.S. investors selling ETH at a discount, pushing the Coinbase Premium Index to its lowest level since July 2022, indicating broad de-risking.
Other major holders have also been active. Trend Research reportedly sold more than 170,000 ETH in under ten hours to repay loans, and Aave founder Stani Kulechov sold roughly 4,500 ETH near $1,900. At the same time, some investors moved in the opposite direction. Serial crypto investors 7 Siblings bought 9,000 ETH at just under $2,000 each as prices dipped, reflecting mixed strategies among whales during the correction.
The recent selling by Buterin and other large holders underscores the ongoing redistribution of ETH among institutions, whales, and savvy investors, contributing to heightened market volatility while the token navigates key support levels.
