Ethereum Co-founder Vitalik Buterin Lost $29m in Six Days

Discover the incredible story of Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, as he watches tens of millions evaporate from his portfolio in just six days.

According to data provided by blockchain analytics service Arkham Intelligence, Buterin's publicly-known crypto wallets lost approximately $29 million in a span of six days from December 15 to December 21. This represents a 5% drop in the total value of his wallets, as the assets they held fell from $572 million to $543 million.

Putting His Money Where His Mouth Is

Out of the current $543 million held in his wallets, the majority consists of Ethereum (ETH). The two most prominent assets, apart from ETH, are Kyber Network (KNC) with $623,000 and Wrapped Ethereum (WETH) with $431,000.

With his portfolio heavily reliant on Ethereum, Buterin is particularly vulnerable to price fluctuations of the cryptocurrency he helped create. On December 15, ETH reached a high of just under $2,300, but it has since experienced a decline of over 4% to its current price of just above $2,200.

Meet Vitalik Buterin

Vitalik Buterin, a Russian-Canadian programmer and writer, is best known for his pivotal role in the development of Ethereum. As one of the co-founders of Bitcoin Magazine, a prominent online publication focused on Bitcoin since 2012, Buterin has long been involved in the cryptocurrency space.

In 2014, Buterin identified limitations within the Bitcoin network and introduced Ethereum through a white paper. His proposal outlined a blockchain-based distributed computing platform capable of supporting smart contract functionality. In 2015, Ethereum was officially launched, with Buterin playing a vital role as co-founder.

Since its inception, Ethereum has become the second-largest cryptocurrency platform, trailing only behind Bitcoin in terms of market capitalization. Buterin continues to contribute to the improvement and advancement of Ethereum's open-source protocol technology.