Co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, has made major waves in the crypto community by donating over half a million dollars worth of animal-themed memecoins he had received to a charity dedicated to the preservation of animal welfare. The donated funds equated to 200 Ether — a total amount equivalent to $532,398 as indicated by the receipt which Buterin made public. Encouraging a similar act of benevolence, Buterin suggested that future memecoins intended for him should instead be directed to charitable organizations. He urged for more “sophisticated public goods funding” from the memecoin community from 2024.
Buterin’s act of generosity was born out of an unexpected circumstance where a memecoin project named Neiro Ethereum (NEIRO) sought to capitalize on his popularity. Their strategy bore fruit as Buterin’s sale of the tokens, which initially caused a 60% plummet in the token’s price, triggered a surprising upswing of 200% soon after. Neiro Ethereum’s initial plea for Buterin to donate a portion of the proceeds to a stray dog shelter was met with affirmation when Buterin shared the donation receipt.
Vocal about his dissatisfaction with the celebrity involvement in the currency’s life cycle, Buterin stressed that the financial side of such ventures should serve a larger purpose — contributing to societal value by way of supporting the arts, open-source software, and healthcare improvements. Although he shared his concerns over the potential of Iggy Azalea-backed Mother Iggy (MOTHER) memecoin becoming emblematic of celebrity endorsement, he expressed approval of Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis’ Stoner Cats project which used non-fungible tokens to fund an animated show, praising its substance and purpose as opposed to other memecoins.