cointelegraph.com
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has regained his status as a ten-figure crypto holder just days after Ether crossed the $4,000 price level for the first time in eight months, according to a blockchain intelligence firm.
“Vitalik Buterin is now an onchain billionaire again,” Arkham said in a post on Saturday. At the time of publication, Buterin’s portfolio is valued at approximately $1.04 billion, holding 240,042 $ETH alongside smaller stakes in cryptocurrencies such as Aave Ethereum (AETHWETH), WhiteRock (WHITE), Moo Deng (MOODENG), and Wrapped Ethereum (WETH).
Traders anticipate new all-time highs for Ether
On Saturday, Ether ($ETH) climbed another 6.38%, reaching as high as $4,332 following its return to $4,000 on Friday — a level not seen since December 2024 — while Bitcoin’s share of the crypto market cap declined.
At the time of publication, Ether is trading at $4,244, according to Nansen.
Some crypto traders anticipate that Ether is on its way to reclaiming its November 2021 all-time high of $4,878. Crypto trader Ted said in an X post that it “is just a matter of days now.”
CoinGlass data shows a move to $4,500 would put approximately $1.35 billion in short positions at risk amid other traders speculating a short squeeze in the near future.
Arkham also highlighted growing momentum for Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs). “ETFs yesterday had total flows of $461M for $ETH but only $404M for $BTC,” the firm said.
Over the past five trading days, US-based spot Ether ETFs saw $326.6 million inflows, while Bitcoin ($BTC) ETFs saw $253.2 million, according to Farside data.
Buterin first became a crypto billionaire at 27
Buterin first became a crypto billionaire at age 27 in May 2021, when Ether crossed $3,000 for the first time.
At the time, he held around 333,500 $ETH, valued at approximately $1.029 billion, according to onchain data from Etherscan. This came after $ETH’s value had more than quadrupled from roughly $700 at the start of 2021.
Nearly three years earlier, in October 2018, Buterin revealed he never held more than 0.9% of all Ether and that his net worth had “never came close” to $1 billion.
Related: Ethereum beats Solana in capital inflows: $4K target in sight
While many in the industry attribute a large part of Ether’s price surge to the rise of Ether treasury companies, Buterin recently made a strong warning against the trend.
“If you woke me up three years from now and told me that treasuries led to the downfall of $ETH, then, of course, my guess for why would basically be that somehow they turned it into an overleveraged game,” Buterin said in an interview on Thursday.
Magazine: Buterin’s $ETH treasury warning, Bitcoin $250K a ‘maybe’: Hodler’s Digest, Aug. 3 – 9