Ethereum Traders on Alert After Vitalik Buterin Dumps Another $3.6M in ETH

• Vitalik Buterin has sold Ethereum worth $3.67 million, triggering a 6% drop in the token’s price as his February dump now hits 8,800 ETH.
• ETH inflows to exchanges have surged, with Binance inflows hitting their highest level since November as market sentiment dampens.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has once again sold a substantial amount of ETH at a time when the altcoin is struggling to hold above critical price levels. Over the weekend, Vitalik sold 1,869 ETH, worth $3.67 million at the time of the sale, data from onchain analytics platform Lookonchain revealed. The sale sparked a 5.7% dip from $1,988 when the first sale was made, to $1,875. Ethereum trades at $1,886 at press time after dropping 4.5% in the past day despite a 44% uptick in its trading volume to hit $16.4 billion. While the sale may have contributed to the drop, the entire market started off the week on the red, with BTC, XRP, BNB and and ADA all shedding at least 3.5%, as SOL lost** 7%**. Cumulatively, Vitalik has sold over 8,800 ETH in February, onchain data shows. In his previous sale, he dumped 6,958 ETH, valued at $14.8 million at the time of sale. That sale preceded a 23% price drop from $2,360 to $1,825. Despite the sales, he still holds over 224,000 ETH, worth nearly $450 million. The sale is part of Vitalik’s efforts to contribute his own funds to the development of the network. As CNF reported, he announced that the Ethereum Foundation would implement austerity measures this year and cut back funding for many of its projects. In his individual capacity, he would contribute his funds to keep some of the vital projects running, pledging over 16,000 ETH to open-source privacy and security projects.

Image courtesy of Lookonchain on X.

Earlier this month, he also donated an undisclosed sum to Shielded Labs, the project that’s seeking to introduce proof-of-stake to Zcash, a network that was originally derived from the Bitcoin codebase and inherited its proof-of-work consensus mechanism. Ethereum Loses 36% in Last Month While the sales by Vitalik may have done some damage to ETH’s price, the leading altcoin has been struggling for over four weeks now. After a great start to the year, where it hit this year’s high of $3,380 in mid-January, its fortunes have turned, in line with the broader crypto and stocks markets. In the last 30 days, ETH has shed 36.44% of its value, a much steeper drop than Bitcoin’s 26% or XRP’s 28%. Ether’s struggles could continue in the short term, with onchain data showing that ETH inflow to exchanges is surging. According to onchain data platform Crypto Quant, over $33 billion worth of the altcoin has been sent to Binance, the largest crypto exchange, in the past 30 days. This is the highest inflow since November. Exchange inflows indicate that traders are preparing to sell off their holdings, which could put further pressure on the struggling token. However, it’s not all bad news for Ethereum. BitMine Immersion, the company launched by Tom Lee that has now become an ETH treasury, has continued accumulating the token as it works towards its stated goal of owning 5% of the network’s supply. It recently revealed that it has achieved 72.3% of its goal, purchasing 128,160 ETH in February and 132,000 in January.

Bitmines goal to own 5% of the total $ETH supply is now 72.3% complete.

Bullish on $BMNR. pic.twitter.com/UsTOvgPmJr

— Crypto Rover (@cryptorover) February 22, 2026