Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin has stepped up liquidations of ether (ETH), offloading millions of dollars’ worth of the token and adding downward pressure to an already soft market. According to blockchain tracker Lookonchain, Buterin sold 1,869 ETH (about $3.67 million) over two days after withdrawing 3,500 ETH from lending protocol Aave. Those moves are part of a broader stream of disposals: since Feb. 2 he has sold roughly 8,000 ETH, following a Jan. 30 announcement that he would withdraw and liquidate a total of 16,384 ETH to fund ecosystem development, open‑source projects and other initiatives while the Ethereum Foundation adopts a period of “mild austerity.” The market has reacted. Ether dropped nearly 3% over the past 48 hours, briefly hitting a 20‑day low of $1,844 early Monday, CoinDesk data shows. The token remains well below its August peak of just over $4,900 and has been on a general downtrend since then. Despite the recent sales, Buterin still controls a substantial position: Arkham Intelligence reports he held more than 224,000 ETH (about $429 million) at the time of reporting. On the demand side, buyers have stepped in to absorb some of the supply—among them ShapeShift founder Erik Voorhees and a whale linked to crypto services firm Matrixport—muting, for now, the full impact of the founder’s liquidations. As a major early holder, Buterin’s moves are closely watched by markets: they can amplify short‑term volatility, but ongoing institutional and whale demand will be a key factor in determining whether these sales translate into a sustained price slump. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

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