Vitalik Buterin Donates Half a Million in Crypto to Animal Charity

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently announced that he has donated all the animal-themed memecoins he received last year to charity.

On August 15, Buterin shared that he had completed these donations, providing a receipt showing a transfer of 200 ETH, valued at approximately $532,398, to the Effective Altruism Funds’ Animal Welfare Fund.

Buterin used this opportunity to encourage the memecoin community to direct any crypto they wish to give him straight to charitable causes. He also suggested that starting in 2024, the community should engage in more “sophisticated public goods funding,” as highlighted in his earlier blog on memecoins.

The donation followed a noteworthy incident involving the memecoin Neiro on Ethereum (NEIRO), which saw its value drop by 60% after Buterin sold his holdings.

However, the price rebounded by 200% shortly after. Neiro’s team had reached out to Buterin, requesting that he allocate some of the proceeds to a stray dog shelter. In response, Buterin confirmed the donation with a public receipt.

Buterin has previously expressed dissatisfaction with the trend of celebrity-backed memecoins, arguing that they often lack meaningful impact. He has advocated for financial initiatives that benefit public welfare, such as supporting art, open-source software, and healthcare.

He acknowledged the positive example of Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis’ Stoner Cats project, which used NFTs to fund an animated series, contrasting it with the generally less substantive memecoins.