Shitcoins are like fake coins that don’t work very well and can be a waste of money. And Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, knows that.
So he sold the meme coins gifted to him in a move that sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency community.
Buterin recently sold nearly $700,000 worth of shitcoins consisting of Cult DAO (CULT), Mops (MOPS), and Shikoku (SHIK), according to Lookonchain data.
vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) sells its free shitcoins.
Currently selling 50B $MOPS for 1.25 $ETH($2K), sold 10B $CULT for 58 $ETH($91K), sold 500T $SHIK for 380 $ETH($600K). https://t.co/SboWZsO8WY pic.twitter.com/xNaRTeVM7K
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) March 7, 2023
Why Vitalik Buterin Unloads Shitcoins
Buterin has a habit of getting rid of huge sums of coins that smaller projects often send to his address.
The Ethereum co-creator is well aware that getting rid of free meme coins can significantly depress prices and deplete liquidity.
Some assume that he is selling to offset expenses, as the proceeds will be included as income on his tax return.
Some believe it has something to do with testnet tokens, especially Goerli ETH. According to data from DEXTools, approximately $0.5 million worth of gETH has been traded in the past 24 hours, with a total of 11.88 million GETH in circulation.
2021, Buterin sold 90% of his Shiba Inu (SHIB) and pledged to donate the remaining 10% to charity.
Image: Kayode Ola/Medium
Impact of Selling Shitcoins
Meme coins are cryptocurrencies that are often created as a joke or for fun and are not necessarily backed by an underlying asset or utility.
Offloading shitcoins, meaning selling or exchanging them for another currency or asset, can have different effects depending on several factors, such as the popularity and liquidity of the specific meme coin, current market conditions, and the number of coins that is unloaded.
In general, if a large number of people unload their free meme coins at the same time, it can lead to a decrease in the value of the coin due to an increase in supply and a decrease in demand.
This effect can be amplified if the meme coin is already on a bearish trend or if there are concerns about the legitimacy or viability of the project.
Crypto total market cap drops from the crucial $1 trillion level, and now pegged at $975 billion on the daily chart | Chart: TradingView.com
On the other hand, if the meme coin has a strong and active community and there is a steady demand for the coin, unloading free meme coins may not have a significant impact on the price.
In some cases, offloading can even have a positive effect as it can help increase liquidity and trading volume, which can attract new buyers and investors.
In the end, the effect of unloading free meme coins depends on many factors, and it is important to consider the specific circumstances and market conditions before making any decisions.
– Featured image from Healthline