Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has recently donated all the animal-themed coins he received the past year to a charity that supports animal welfare initiatives.
In an August 15 X post, Buterin provided a receipt confirming that the funds were directed to the Effective Altruism Funds' Animal Welfare Fund.
According to the receipt, Buterin transferred $532,398 to the charity on August 14.
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Buterin also used this opportunity to encourage the memecoin community to donate any crypto assets directly to charities instead of sending them to him. Additionally, he hinted at ideas he discussed in a blog post published this March, where he suggested that memecoins should "support public goods instead of just enriching insiders and creators."
The donation itself was sparked after a memecoin project known as Neiro on Ethereum (NEIRO) airdropped 4% of its total supply to Buterin in an attempt to draw attention to the token. Buterin quickly sold off all of these tokens, after which the NEIRO team reached out to him, asking him to donate a portion of the proceeds to a stray dog shelter.
This act of generosity not only highlights Buterin's philanthropic spirit but also sets an example for the crypto community on how digital assets can be used to support meaningful causes.
