In a major philanthropy move, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin donated $1.5 billion worth of cryptocurrencies to several non-profit organizations. The giveaway includes $1 billion sent to a Covid-19 relief fund in India.
Over the last several weeks, India has seen a dramatic surge in Covid-19 infections, reporting a record number of cases and fatalities.The World Health Organization warned that the Indian strain first detected last year has already spread to dozens of countries.
The Russian-born programmer made the generous donation in the form of several dog-themed meme coins, such as Shiba Inu, Dogelon Mars and Akita Inu.
Buterin’s contribution went to the India Covid Relief Fund, created by Sandeep Nailwal, a fellow crypto entrepreneur and co-founder of the Ethereum scaling platform Polygon.
“We plan to do a thoughtful liquidation to ensure we meet our Covid relief goal,” the fund said on Twitter. “We have decided to convert the donation slowly over a period of time.”
The move has reportedly caused some cryptos to plunge between 30% and 65%, raising concerns that the amount of actual aid reaching Indian charities could decline as a result.
Buterin, 27, became the world’s youngest crypto billionaire last week, when the price of ether surged to $3,500, pushing the value of his estimated 333,500 ether tokens to over $1.1 billion.
