Vitalik Buterin Sells 10 Billion MOODENG Tokens, Donates Proceeds to Charity, Sparking 300% Price Surge

Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin recently sold 10 billion units of a meme coin called MOO DENG (MOODENG). He then donated the proceeds to charity. This move caused the coin's value to jump by 300%.

At the current market price of $0.00018, Buterin's MOODENG tokens are worth about $1.8 million. This sale is part of a growing trend of charitable transactions involving meme coins in 2024.

On-chain transaction data shows that Buterin sold the 10 billion MOODENG tokens in six separate batches. He explained this sale in a social media post, mentioning that the coins were given to him by their creator. He also stated that he would sell any other coins sent to him and donate the proceeds to various causes, like technology to combat airborne diseases. He said, “I appreciate all the meme coins that donate portions of their supply directly to charity. I’ve said before that I think the best thing for meme coins is if they can be maximally positive-sum for the world, so it’s great to see moments when that actually happens.”

This sale is just one part of Buterin's recent efforts to promote charitable donations through meme coins. Back in March, he talked about the potential for meme coins to help charitable causes. Throughout 2024, he has made several donations involving these assets.

For example, in early August, he sold all his Neiro tokens. The creators asked him to donate some of the money to an animal shelter, which he did publicly. Following that, the value of Neiro went up significantly. Similarly, MOODENG has seen considerable growth since Buterin's donations.

It looks like Buterin may have found a way to boost the value of meme coins through charitable transactions. While the MOODENG creators didn’t directly contribute to charity, their unsolicited token drop has still helped disease prevention research. This trend might encourage other meme coins to build their reputations through similar donations.

However, it’s unlikely that every asset will see a price increase just because of Buterin’s involvement. Meme coins often face criticism in certain parts of the crypto community. Still, actions like these seem to provide clear public benefits.