Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin accelerates ether sales

• Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has sold 1,869 ether worth about $3.67 million over two days, pressuring an already weak market.
• The latest sales are part of a broader plan announced in late January to fund ecosystem development and other initiative.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin is offloading ether (ETH) worth millions, adding bearish pressure in an already weak market.

Buterin has sold 1,869 ether, worth $3.67 million, over two days, having withdrawn 3,500 ether from Aave, according to data tracked by blockchain sleuth Lookonchain.

Ether's price has declined nearly 3% over the past 48 hours, hitting a 20-day low of $1,844 at one point early Monday, CoinDesk data shows. The token has been in a downtrend since hitting a high of over $4,900 in August last year.

Since Feb. 2, Buterin has supposedly sold almost over 8,000 ether. These sales follow a Jan. 30 announcement that he would withdraw and liquidate his 16,384 ether to finance ecosystem development, open-source software and other key initiatives while the Ethereum Foundation enters a "mild austerity" phase.

Still, as of writing, Buterin held over 224,000 ether, worth $429 million, according to Arkham Intelligence.

While Buterin has been trimming his holdings, this supply is being gobbled up by the likes of ShapeShift Founder Erik Voorhees and a whale associated with crypto services provider Matrixport.

• Ricardo Salinas urged his followers to buy bitcoin as protection against inflation and control.
• Salinas said he has 70% of hits liquid assets in bitcoin during an interview last year, up from 10% in 2020.
• The Mexican crypto advocate has said he views fiat currency as fraudulent and positions bitcoin as the primary means of preserving purchasing power.

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