According to Forbes, crypto billionaire and Ethereum’s creator Vitalik Buterin donated over $1 billion to India’s COVID Relief Fund and a range of other charities. This sizable donation is primarily intended to help the country fight the coronavirus pandemic.
In a single transaction, Buterin transferred Shiba Inu coins worth $1.2 billion to the Indian fund. The crypto billionaire also donated $336 million in Dogelon Mars and Ethereum, his own token. These funds were wired to the Methuselah Foundation, a non-profit organisation focused on extending the healthy human lifespan through regenerative medicine therapies. In addition, Buterin transferred over 13,000 ETH worth $54 million to international charity GiveWell.
Apart from that, the crypto billionaire allocated about $441 million in Akita Inu tokens to aid Ethereum-based technology company Gitcoin Community, the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI), as well as the Charter Cities Institute.
Following Buterin’s donations, the value of these digital currencies fell dramatically. According to Coinbase analysts, Shiba Inu lost 36%, while Dogelon Mars collapsed by 65%.
Notably, Vitalik Buterin launched the Ethereum blockchain in 2015. As early as 2021, the 27-year-old programmer became the world’s youngest crypto billionaire. Over the past year, his total income has increased 25 times.
