On August 15, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin announced he'd emptied his pockets of animal-themed tokens, sending over $500,000 worth to charity. He had completed a substantial donation to the Effective Altruism Funds' Animal Welfare Fund. 

More: Buterin Wants Everyday People to Become Validators. Yay or Nay?

The receipt he shared showed a transfer of 200 Ether (ETH), valued at a whopping $532,398, made on August 14.

Here's the scoop, straight from the blockchain:

  • Buterin transferred 200 Ether (ETH), valued at a whopping $532,398, to the Effective Altruism Funds' Animal Welfare Fund on August 14.
  • This charitable act followed a series of tweets with a memecoin called Neiro on ETH (NEIRO).
  • After Buterin sold his NEIRO tokens, the price did more flips than a circus acrobat - first plummeting 60%, then skyrocketing 200%.

Now, let's dig a little deeper. Back in June, he threw some serious shade at the whole celebrity token craze. He argued that financialization should serve a purpose for the public good and should bring value to society by promoting art and creativity, supporting open-source software or improving healthcare.

Buterin's not just talking the talk; he's walking the walk, or, should we say, donating the donate.

This whole charity bonanza started because of a cheeky move by the Neiro on ETH project. They decided to airdrop a bunch of tokens to Buterin, probably hoping he'd give them the crypto equivalent of a celebrity endorsement. Instead, Buterin pulled a classic "thanks, but no thanks" move and sold the all the tokens.

The Neiro folks, not ones to miss a PR opportunity, then asked Buterin to donate some of the proceeds to a stray dog shelter. Their exact words were: "Our humble ask is that you donate part of the proceeds to a stray dog shelter. And thank you for building our playground!" 

Buterin responded by sharing the donation receipt, proving that he's not just all talk and no action.

Buterin's not just throwing money around, though. He's got a whole checklist for what makes a celebrity crypto project worthy of his respect. He explained that a project should have "a clear public benefit goal beyond just enriching the celebrity and early investors." 

He prefers projects that have longevity, "ideally lasting over 10 years, rather than ones that gain temporary popularity for a few months and are then forgotten."

Buterin's donation came after an unusual sequence of events involving the NEIRO project. As reported, "A memecoin project called Neiro Ethereum (NEIRO) attempted to use Buterin to gain attention, and their strategy paid off when Buterin sold the tokens." 

Following his sale, the token's price initially dropped by 60%, according to DEXScreener; however, shortly after his transaction, the price surged by 200%.

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