Vitalik Buterin mints DAI, sells DHN and crashes meme token prices with rapid selling

Vitalik Biterin’s wallets are moving funds again, liquidating Dohrnii (DHN) and other meme tokens. The known addresses of Buterin minted more DAI, while also selling several meme tokens. 

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, started trading actively again, shedding meme token holdings. One of Buterin’s known wallets minted DAI and liquidated the holdings of several meme tokens. 

Buterin minted 315,382 DAI in a single transaction, a way to tap the liquidity of some of his holdings. DAI remains a DEX-traded token that usually remains within the Ethereum ecosystem, as most centralized exchanges have discontinued support for its trading. DAI is used within DeFi, as an alternative to liquidating ETH or other holdings. 

The recent transactions came from a relatively small wallet of Buterin’s, using the vitalik.eth address. After the latest transactions, Buterin retained only 772.6 ETH as a final balance. The wallet has supported multiple altcoin and token projects, but Buterin still refuses to bull-post Ethereum, despite the price slide. 

Buterin makes a windfrall on Dohrnii

The latest balances in Buterin’s wallet show he made his biggest recent windfall from the Dohrnii (DHN) project. After months of inactivity, DHN started expanding in early 2025 and went vertical in the past few days. 

DHN peaked at over $46, as Buterin sold while the token was still trading above $40. The main wallet liquidated 5,000 DHN for 65.19 ETH. Buterin used the Rabby exchange for the swap, as DHN has extremely limited listing venues. The token is considered a potential scam, or a liquidity-draining project, but the relatively large liquidation from Buterin’s wallet went through. While the proceeds were small, some praised Buterin’s decision not to be used to advertise new and risky projects.

The Dohrnii Labs project aims to offer an educational platform for personal and crypto finance. The project also reached out to Buterin for an OTC deal to avoid further dumping on the market. 

Hey @VitalikButerin, we’d love to buy out your $DHN in an OTC deal to minimize market fluctuations from future sales. https://t.co/5Rc9jGbU8a

— Dohrnii Labs (@Dohrnii_io) March 18, 2025

Buterin’s sale coincides with rising skepticism about the DHN token. The project achieved a near-impossible feat, a vertical climb and rapid appreciation during a bearish market. DHN is illiquid, lacking transparent data on exchanges, and may be artificially inflated. 

Currently, the Dohrnii Labs team still controls 85% of the token’s supply. One of the hot wallets, containing another 9.99% of the supply, is also engaged in high-velocity trading. The insider holdings and high volumes could create a false security that DHN is a legitimate asset. 

DHN was suspected of creating a liquidity farm, with insider trading and spoof volumes. For now, the project remains insecure and this may be one of the reasons Buterin divested some of the holdings. 

Buterin retains 5,000 DHN valued a little over $200K after completing his selling. The action did not crash the price to zero but may have contributed to halting DHN’s rally. 

Previously, Buterin had received the tokens for free. The transactions for 10,000 DHN were completed 47 days ago, but Buterin still chose the day of the most active pump to divest the tokens. DHN reached a market cap above $17B, though its trading remained limited to $500K, suggesting not all holders would be able to cash out. The token also had extremely slim liquidity pools.  

It is common practice for new projects to send tokens to Buterin’s public wallet as a tool for exposure. However, Buterin has always warned that he will sell and use the funds for donations. 

Buterin sheds meme token holdings

Buterin also liquidated both new and old tokens, to bring the total proceeds to 71.69 ETH. He even liquidated remnant SHIB holdings for 0.98 ETH. The other tokens included FML, VB and AWESOME. 

Previously, Buterin has refused support or posting on behalf of meme projects. After the sales, Buterin holds KyberNetwork (KNC) valued at $250K, as well as multiple dust amounts of tokens. 

Following the recent sales, the price of ETH hardly reacted. The asset traded at $1,907.56, still pressured by an overall bearish sentiment. Ethereum is also not as widely used for new launches and memes, raising questions about the network’s future and Buterin’s role in the project’s appeal.

Cryptopolitan Academy: Tired of market swings? Learn how DeFi can help you build steady passive income. Register Now