Vitalik Buterin’s Recent Ethereum Sales and Aave Deposits
Over the past few days, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), has completed a series of sales involving his ETH holdings. After consolidating the proceeds into USD Coin (USDC), he made a significant deposit to Aave, a popular decentralized lending protocol. This move marks Buterin as a supporter of Aave (AAVE) and highlights his commitment to the broader Ethereum ecosystem.
Buterin is known for his long-term holding strategy, but his recent transactions suggest a shift towards utilizing his assets to support key protocols in the DeFi space. Over the last couple of weeks, he liquidated a total of 950 ETH through Cow Protocol and other decentralized platforms, resulting in $2.27 million in USDC. A portion of these funds was then transferred to Aave from an intermediary address connected to one of Buterin’s main wallets.
Aave’s Growing Liquidity and Smart Money Inflows
The USDC was deposited into Aave’s V3 vaults, which currently hold over $302.5 million. In addition, Buterin’s wallet deposited 2,851 ETH, further boosting Aave’s liquidity. This influx is part of a broader trend where smart money withdraws AAVE from exchanges or uses the protocol for passive income, opting for a safer DeFi option compared to other riskier hubs.
Interestingly, Buterin has not endorsed any specific DeFi projects in the past and has often spoken against yield-based hubs. He has shown a preference for simpler use cases, such as decentralized exchange (DEX) trading, stablecoins, and synthetic assets.
Current Status of Aave and Anticipated Developments
Aave already holds $445.7 million in staked tokens and manages $11.13 billion in loans and collaterals. The platform is attracting increasing interest with the anticipation of its V4 release, which is expected to bring targeted liquidity and enhanced liquidation safeguards. Although V4 is still in the early stages, its potential rollout in the coming months is generating excitement in the DeFi community.
Vitalik Buterin’s Break from His No-Selling Streak
Before these recent transactions, Buterin tweeted about his long-standing policy of holding ETH, having not sold any significant amount since 2018. He mentioned that all sales were conducted to support projects he considered valuable, either within the Ethereum ecosystem or broader charitable causes, such as biomedical research.
“I haven’t sold and kept the proceeds since 2018. All sales have been to support various projects that I think are valuable, either within the Ethereum ecosystem or broader charity (e.g., biomedical R&D)” — vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) August 31, 2024
Buterin explained that the recent sales through CoW Swap were actually a predetermined order set up on August 29 to support a bio-defense project. The transactions were automated and structured as Time-Weighted Average Price (TWAP) orders to minimize their impact on ETH prices. The average selling price was $2,396 per ETH, transacted in the form of Wrapped Ethereum (WETH).
Impact on the Market and Ethereum Ecosystem
The Ethereum Foundation also contributed to the selling pressure by conducting sales near local market peaks. As a result, ETH’s price dropped to a baseline of $2,359.05. Despite this, Buterin’s actions, along with those of the Ethereum Foundation, continue to reflect a strong belief in the ecosystem and its DeFi hubs.
Recently, Buterin emphasized that endorsements within the ecosystem would be limited to Layer 2 solutions (L2s) that are sufficiently decentralized.
Aave’s Expansion and GHO Token Growth
Aave is actively expanding its native token, GHO. In the past few days, the supply of GHO has increased by another 2 million tokens, boosting its market cap to over $137 billion. The target is to reach $175 billion, at which point Aave will begin buybacks. The renewed interest in Aave has also propelled the AAVE token from the top 100 into the top 40 assets by market capitalization. AAVE recently surged above $150, achieving a one-year peak after enduring a prolonged bear market.
Future Prospects for Aave and the DeFi Market
Prior to Buterin’s deposit, Aave attracted interest from Sky, formerly known as Maker. The protocol is expected to start hosting USDS in its vaults, both as a collateral and loan asset. Before its rebranding, the Ethereum Foundation sold ETH and converted it to DAI, which is soon to be rebranded as USDS. These developments have added to the growing excitement surrounding Aave, reinforcing its position as a leading lending hub in the current market cycle.
As the DeFi market continues to evolve, Buterin’s recent actions and Aave’s expansion signal strong confidence in the future of decentralized finance, encouraging other investors to consider similar strategies for maximizing returns while minimizing risk.
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