Vitalik Buterin surpasses 16,384 ETH sale target with $38 million in total disposals

Vitalik Buterin has surpassed his previously stated plan of selling 16,384 ETH, with total disposals now reaching 18,684 ETH.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin surpassed his publicly stated goal of selling 16,384 ETH, and on-chain data shows that total disposals have now reached over 18,000 ETH, valued at over $38 million.

The sales, which have accelerated in the past 24 hours, come as ETH battles a multi-month bearish trend that has seen it lose nearly 60% of its value from last summer’s all-time high above $4,900.

Sales accelerate beyond planned target

Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain reported early Thursday that Buterin-linked wallets have now exceeded the 16,384 ETH threshold it announced in late January.

The blockchain developer initially revealed its plan on January 31, 2026, stating that it had withdrawn 16,384 ETH to fund the development of open source software and hardware, privacy tools, and security-critical infrastructure projects.

He called the move part of a period of “mild austerity” for the Ethereum Foundation, personally taking on funding responsibilities for certain initiatives to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Foundation.

The sale began at the beginning of February and has been developed in different phases. On February 5, Lookonchain reported that Buterin had sold 2,961 ETH worth $6.6 million in three days at an average price of $2,228 per coin.

By February 6, total sales had risen to 6,183 ETH, valued at $13.2 million, and the pace accelerated at the end of the month. On February 22, on-chain data showed that Buterin had withdrawn another 3,500 ETH from Aave, and by February 23, Lookonchain marked additional sales of 1,869 ETH worth $3.67 million.

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However, the most intense activity occurred between February 25 and 26. According to analyst Ted Pillows, Buterin sold another $2.83 million worth of ETH in the past few hours alone, bringing his February total to $38.2 million. The sales included an additional 2,300 ETH dumped after Ethereum posted a 10% daily gain, its first such move in more than four months.

Transaction data shared by Lookonchain shows multiple swaps routed through the CoW Protocol, a decentralized exchange aggregator that splits large orders into smaller swaps to minimize market impact. These lots ranged from 7 to 70 WETH and were executed in quick succession, raising the total beyond the planned 16,384 ETH to 18,684 ETH.

Despite the disposals, Arkham Intelligence data indicates that Buterin remains one of the largest individual holders, with over 240,000 ETH still in wallets associated with him.

Ethereum Price Action

Ethereum price has shown significant volatility during Buterin’s selling period. The asset is currently trading around $2,050, up 8.6% in the last 24 hours and 3.6% over the past week, according to CoinGecko. However, the token is still down almost 30% over the last month and almost 18% in a year.

Analyst Ali Martinez noted that Ethereum’s broader decline coincided with significant ETF outflows, with data showing that over the past five weeks, institutional products have offloaded around 563,600 ETH, worth around $1.13 billion.

If selling pressure continues, Martinez identified several critical bearish levels to watch, with $1,800 as the immediate pivot, followed by $1,584, $1,238, and a deeper capitulation zone near $1,089.