Vitalik Buterin Sells 5K DHN Tokens for $124K, Triggering 50% Price Drop
Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has made headlines once more by selling 5,000 Dohrnii (DHN) tokens, which he received for free from Dohrnii Labs. This transaction, valued at approximately $124,000 (equivalent to 65 ETH), significantly impacted the token’s market value, leading to a swift decline of around 50%—plummeting from $38.505 to as low as $20.699 in a flash crash on March 18.
The tokens were part of a 10,000 DHN batch sent to Buterin on January 29 as a typical marketing strategy, incentivizing recognition through distribution to prominent figures in the cryptocurrency sector. Following the sale, the price of DHN briefly recovered to $43.94 before stabilizing at around $39.75, despite registering a notable 11% decrease over the past week. Remarkably, DHN still maintains an extraordinary growth trajectory, with a staggering rise of over 3.4 million percent in the last year, as reported by CoinGecko. Data from Etherscan indicates that Buterin retains the remaining 5,000 DHN tokens, currently valued at nearly $190,000.
Dohrnii represents the native cryptocurrency of a burgeoning educational platform targeting crypto literacy, built on the Ethereum blockchain. In the wake of the sudden market fluctuation caused by Buterin’s sale, Dohrnii Labs has proactively sought to mitigate further volatility by offering to facilitate an over-the-counter sale of their remaining holdings.
Buterin’s actions align with his consistent counsel to crypto projects to refrain from sending him tokens, advocating instead for direct donations to charitable causes. This philosophy was demonstrated in August 2024 when he donated $530,000 in animal-themed meme coins to Effective Altruism Funds’ Welfare Fund. Moreover, he liquidated over $1 million in various digital assets later that year to benefit several non-profits.
Despite speculation in 2023 surrounding his potential sale of significant amounts of ETH and other assets, Buterin firmly denied such claims, clarifying that any transfers from his wallets were intended for charitable purposes. He reiterated this message, suggesting projects establish decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to foster community involvement in donation initiatives. Buterin’s ongoing mission remains to harness the potential of meme coins for positive social impact, a
vision he continues to advocate.
