Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin is planning an additional $100 million donation for COVID-19 research. The gift is being made in collaboration with Polygon (MATIC) co-founder Sandeep Nailwal.
The eccentric Russian announced the news via a Twitter message. The money comes from the CryptoRelief fund and is led by Sandeep. $90 million will come directly from the fund’s pot. Vitalik will add another $10 million himself.
Crypto Relief and Shiba Inu
Vitalik Buterin stressed the need for a global approach to COVID-19 in his announcement. According to him, global scientific collaborations and innovations are necessary to prevent future pandemics. One of the current issues the Russian is addressing is long-term symptoms associated with Covid. In addition, the Ethereum founder warns of a possible new “version 2” variant:
Covid will not end on its own and there remains a risk of the pandemic/hyperendemic returning to a more acute state
Philanthropist Vitalik Buterin
The $100 million donation is not the first that COVID-19 researchers have received. In January 2022, Buterin also donated $100 million. The remarkable thing is that CryptoRelief’s wealth was built through the sale of Shiba Inu (SHIB). Buterin received 50% of these tokens as a joke when the project was created. Of these, 90%, with a total value of $6 billion at the time, have disappeared, as it were, because Vitalik has them burnt. Burning in the context of cryptocurrency refers to the process of permanently removing coins from available circulation. He sold the remaining 10% in 2021.
The donation is not a first for Vitalik. The Ethereum founder donated 50 ETH and 99 ETH to Anka Relief and Ahbap, respectively, who support earthquake-stricken people in Turkey. He also donated $5 million to Aid to Ukraine.