Vitalik Buterin Explains Recent ETH Sales and New Layer 2 Guidelines

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has recently clarified the reasons behind his significant ETH sales amid growing community speculation.

Reports show that Buterin liquidated $190,000 worth of Ethereum for USDC stablecoins.

The wallet linked to Vitalik Buterin, known as Vitalik.eth, has seen a flurry of ETH sales, leading to concerns within the crypto community. This wallet, which received 3,800 ETH valued around $10 million from Buterin, has sold 950 ETH, totaling approximately $2.28 million. Additionally, the Ethereum Foundation has been offloading its ETH holdings.

Recent blockchain data reveals that a portion of the proceeds from these ETH sales was transferred to the Aave platform, amounting to $6.73 million in USDC.

Buterin addressed these concerns by explaining that the recent sale was part of a pre-arranged automatic order set up in late August and that no further similar transactions are expected.

He also outlined new guidelines for Layer 2 (L2) solutions, announcing that from 2025, he will only endorse L2 projects that have reached “stage 1” or higher in their development. This decision will be applied impartially, regardless of any personal connections or investments. Several Zero-Knowledge (ZK) rollup teams are targeting this milestone by the end of the year.

He stressed the importance of security and advised against removing initial protections until proof systems are thoroughly validated. Buterin expressed confidence in transitioning from multisig governance to cryptographic trust, citing a strong record of successful multisig operations.