During a recent disclosure, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin surprised the crypto community by revealing that he earns almost $139,500 from the Ethereum Foundation annually.
This revelation comes at a time when the Foundation’s spending habits have come under scrutiny and raise conversations of transparency in the cryptocurrency space. Despite his nearly $1 billion net worth, Buterin has never sold any ETH for personal benefit since 2018.
182,000 SGD per year
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) August 27, 2024
Transparency Focus
The exposure of Buterin’s remuneration has caused a stir in topics of how the Ethereum Foundation distributes its funds. Stakeholders questioned the gas fees gathered by the non-profit organization that leads the ecosystem of Ethereum.
In an effort to address those concerns, Buterin and another member of the Foundation, Josh Stark, pledged a deep report on the various ways that the Foundation has spent amid the upcoming Devcon SEA event scheduled for this November. The purpose of this report is to brinig clarity in the allocation of funds and strategic priorities that the Foundation focuses on.
Updates from @0xstark on EF spending.
The key info is in this chart.
The “new institutions” category basically means @NomicFoundation, @TheDRC_ , @l2beat, @0xPARC etc – no World Economic Forum insect protein research here!
More info has been and will be published; see thread. https://t.co/sWVfQQ5XQF pic.twitter.com/FY2EPT7Wiz
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) August 27, 2024
The 2023 budget of the Foundation has, therefore, put a lot into “New Institutions,” taking up 36.5% of the total budget, an increase from the 23.8% these organizations allotted in 2022.
Simply put, this connotes a fast-growing commitment to financing organizations in congruence with the long-term vision for Ethereum. Such grants support several entities, including the Nomic Foundation and L2Beat, both key to the development of the ecosystem.
Budget Breakdown
With 24% of the cash allocated, layer-1 research & development receives the second most significant share. Including the most recent Dencun release, this money covers necessary improvements and Ethereum mainnet testing.
Stark pointed out that the Foundation’s first quarter of 2024 alone had distributed over $11 million to outside teams, thereby demonstrating a strong will to advance community development.
Buterin’s openness on his pay and the Foundation’s budget is a welcome change of pace among issues regarding the transparency sometimes connected with crypto companies.
Ethereum Price Action
At the time of writing, Ethereum changes hands at approximately $2,589. On the downside, the price has fallen by 5% in the last 24 hours, which may raise some red flags regarding how volatile the market remains.
In other developments, the Ethereum derivatives markets look buoyant. Options trading volume is up some 60%, which would suggest the investor community is still interested.
Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView