Vitalik Buterin reclaims ‘onchain billionaire’ crown as Ether tops $4.2K

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.

Vitalik Buterin’s portfolio is worth approximately $1.04 billion at the time of publication. Source: Arkham

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

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