Vitalik Buterin Donates $530,000 in Meme Tokens to Animal Welfare Fund

TLDR

• Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin donated approximately $530,000 worth of “animal coins” to the Effective Altruism Funds’ Animal Welfare Fund
• The donated tokens were sent to Buterin over the past year by various projects
• Buterin sold 200 ETH worth of these memecoins to make the donation
• He called for more sophisticated public funding mechanisms in the crypto space
• Buterin suggested creating charity-focused tokens and meaningful crypto games as alternatives to meme coins

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has donated approximately $530,000 worth of “animal coins” to charity. The donation, made to the Effective Altruism Funds’ Animal Welfare Fund, comes from the sale of various meme tokens that were sent to Buterin’s wallet over the past year.

On August 15, 2024, Buterin announced on social media that he had completed a “charity donation covering all animal coins from the past year or so.” He sold about 200 ETH worth of these tokens, which at the time amounted to $530,000, to make the donation.

Charity donation done, covering all animal coins from the past year or so!

That said, I appreciate it if coin holdings just get allocated to the charities directly😊

It's 2024, we can start doing more sophisticated public goods fun-ding, eg. see https://t.co/8ZVhwkVwLy pic.twitter.com/RQ1ThdLCYL

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) August 15, 2024

These “animal coins” are typically meme tokens, often created as a joke or to capitalize on trends in the cryptocurrency market. Developers and communities frequently send these tokens to prominent figures in the crypto space, sometimes as a way to include them in their community, and other times as a marketing tactic.

Buterin’s decision to donate these tokens highlights his ongoing commitment to using cryptocurrency for charitable purposes. In 2021, he famously donated over $1 billion worth of Shiba Inu (SHIB) tokens to India’s COVID-19 relief efforts, although that donation faced challenges due to its size and the volatility of the token.

In his recent announcement, Buterin also called for more sophisticated public funding mechanisms in the cryptocurrency space. He suggested that communities should donate directly to charities instead of sending tokens to high-profile individuals like himself. “It’s 2024, we can start doing more sophisticated public goods funding,” Buterin stated.

This call for more complex funding models aligns with ideas Buterin proposed in a blog post earlier this year. He suggested creating specific tokens for different causes, such as “AntiCancerCoin” for cancer research or “ClimateCoin” for environmental protection. The trading of these tokens could then determine which causes receive financial support.

Buterin’s proposal comes at a time when there’s growing discomfort in the crypto community about the proliferation of meme coins that don’t contribute to meaningful causes. As an alternative, he’s advocating for charity-focused tokens and the development of meaningful crypto games that could benefit lower-income participants.

These ideas build on the play-to-earn models seen in games like Axie Infinity, where players could earn money while playing. Buterin’s suggestion focuses on creating systems that protect vulnerable players while allowing them to engage in enjoyable experiences that also have positive real-world impacts.

This donation is not an isolated incident for Buterin. Just a week prior, his wallet transferred 3,000 ETH (approximately $8.05 million) to a multi-signature wallet. While some speculated this might be another donation, others noted that all signatories of the receiving wallet are linked to Buterin, suggesting it could be an internal fund reallocation.