Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin Burns 410 Trillion Shiba Inu Tokens. Is The Dogecoin Clone Set For Another Bull Run?

Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who was sent 50% of SHIBA INU’s (SHIB) token supply by the founders of the so-called Dogecoin (DOGE) killer coin, has burned a substantial amount of the gift.

What Happened: Buterin last week donated 50 trillion SHIB to India Covid Relief Fund, alongside other cryptocurrencies.

Buterin — who came into the possession of 505 trillion SHIB tokens last week — “burned” 90% of the remaining tokens in his wallet, according to a transaction record on Ethereum’s blockchain on Etherscan.io. It should be noted that the remaining 50% of SHIB is locked to Uniswap (UNI).

Burning refers to the act of sending a token to an unusable account and removing it from circulation, which diminishes supply and increases its scarcity. 

The Ethereum co-founder sent 410.24 trillion SHIB tokens from his wallet, valued at $6.74 billion at the time of the transaction.

“I've decided to burn 90% of the remaining shiba tokens in my wallet. The remaining 10% will be sent to a (not yet decided) charity with similar values to cryptorelief (preventing large-scale loss of life) but with a more long-term orientation,” wrote Buterin in the transaction hash.

“Covid is a big problem now, but it's important to think about the longer term future too!”

SHIB traded 4.29% higher at $0.000016 at press time. It has a circulating supply of 394.8 trillion coins, as per CoinMarketCap. The total supply is one quadrillion.

See Also: How to Buy Shiba Inu (SHIB)

ETH traded 9.93% lower at $3,435.05 at press time on a 24-hour basis, while the apex cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) traded 5.95% lower at $45,143.70.

Why It Matters: Buterin praised “dog token communities” in the transaction saying “Plenty of dog people have shown their generosity and their willingness to not just focus on their own profits but also be interested in making the world as a whole better.”

The Ethereum co-founder also had a message for creators of coins and urged them not to give him coins in their projects without his consent.

“I don't want to be a locus of power of that kind. Better to just print the coins into the hands of a worthy charity directly (though do talk to them first),” said Buterin.

SHIB touts itself as a Dogecoin (DOGE) killer and skyrocketed last week as it found love from investors in China. DOGE traded 6.08% lower at $0.50 at press time.

Benzinga’s Take: SHIB has gained 19% on a seven-day trailing basis, but still traded 57.07% lower from the all-time high of $0.0000388, which it reached on May 10, at press time. Buterin’s burn could potentially trigger another rally, but that remains to be seen. Investors should exercise caution and do due diligence before allocating funds to any volatile investments like new cryptocurrencies with small market capitalizations and high supply.

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