Vitalik Buterin withdraws 16,384 ETH as Ethereum Foundation enters “mild austerity”

Vitalik Buterin has withdrawn 16,384 ETH — worth roughly $44.7 million — from his personal holdings to support Ethereum’s long-term development, while revealing that the Ethereum Foundation has entered a period he described as “mild austerity.”

According to the Ethereum co-founder, the approach is designed to focus resources on two closely linked goals: advancing an “aggressive” roadmap to strengthen Ethereum’s role as a decentralized “world computer,” and protecting users’ ability to access the network with strong self-sovereignty, security, and privacy.

Buterin said he will take a more active role in special development projects, with a focus on open-source applications across areas such as finance, communication, governance, operating systems, biotech, and secure hardware. The withdrawn ETH will be deployed over the coming years, and he also plans to explore decentralized staking options to grow available funding.

While the term “austerity” may raise concerns amid a weak market, some analysts say the move is more about sharpening priorities than cutting spending across the board. The shift suggests a renewed emphasis on funding core research and development that may not be immediately commercial but is considered vital to Ethereum’s long-term vision.

Observers note that as market attention shifts toward real-world assets and stablecoins, the Ethereum Foundation may need to play a larger role in supporting open-source, privacy-focused, and self-sovereignty-driven projects that are essential to the ecosystem’s foundational development.