This is why I recommend all the dog coin / word coin people to not issue tokens to *me*. If you *must* abuse my name, give the supply directly to those orgs and market it as “X% of supply donated to Vitalik-endorsed charities”. But better just talk about the causes directly.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) November 9, 2022
Buterin claims that the initiative must understand how to allocate social capital effectively to progress. According to the co-founder of Ethereum, a lack of clear information on specific concerns is worse than the improper distribution of funds to influential people.
The most recent claims continue a scheme of meme coins donating a fraction of their stash to the Ethereum co-founder in an effort to gain popularity and credibility.
This trend continued until October, after a pause during which it appeared that the cryptocurrency markets were stuck in a long consolidation. Furthermore, the unidentified parties were quick to produce tokens based on the phrases used by Buterin in his tweets.
In response to Buterin’s tweets, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) pointed out that it’s best to donate with the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, as it avoids issues like liquidity and inflated prices that are current with the new tokens.
Agree with the thread until the “issuing a coin part”. If you are making a donation, use a top 10 existing coin. Issuing a coin causes all kinds of problems. Is it for your own benefit (coins you hold) or charity? Not to mention the liquidity issues, inflated valuations, etc…
— CZ ???? Binance (@cz_binance) November 10, 2022
For early investors, specific tokens, like DIE and THE, quickly printed enormous profits. They added new energy to an unusually stagnant crypto market. Notably, these coins, like Shiba Inu before them, sent a portion of the supply to the co-founder of Ethereum.
Also Read: Binance Co-Founder Changpeng Zhao Issues New Warning About Scammers Using Fake Accounts
Buterin has continued converting meme coins in 2026
In January 2026, Buterin converted another batch of tokens from his wallet, receiving about 9.4 ETH, worth roughly $29,400 at the time, according to on-chain data tracked by Lookonchain. Reports noted that he has received billions of dollars worth of unsolicited meme coins over the years and has periodically sold or donated them.
Buterin’s public wallet continues to attract token transfers, meaning projects still see his address as a way to generate attention.
That practice can also create unnecessary volatility. When Buterin sells an unsolicited token, the market can interpret the transaction as a sign that he does not intend to hold it. In previous cases, some of the tokens he sold experienced sharp price movements. In January 2025, for example, his sale of 28 meme coins worth about $984,000 in USDC caused some of the affected tokens to fall by more than 50%, while others moved sharply higher.
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