In recent weeks, the prices of all digital currencies have taken a nosedive, and Ethereum (ETH) is no exception. This has caused co-founder Vitalik Buterin to lose his billionaire status.
Buterin, 28, announced the news on Twitter, saying: “I’m not a billionaire anymore.”
(btw btw I'm not a billionaire anymore)
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) May 20, 2022
While he didn’t add any comment to the tweet, it’s obvious that Buterin was also affected by last week’s slump that plunged the prices of all crypto assets, including ETH, to their lowest level in approximately 12 months.
Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency by market value, has plunged by more than 7% since May 15. The sell-off was triggered by the collapse of TerraForm Labs’ native token LUNA and its UST algorithmic stablecoin. The news sent shockwaves through the crypto world, and Ethereum’s price tumbled in the ensuing panic selling. Although the market has stabilized somewhat in the last 24 hours, with Ethereum’s price hovering around $2,000, it is still well below its May 10, $2.444 per coin pre-crash level.
Buterin may have lost his status as a crypto billionaire, after the value of Ether fell by more than 55% since November 2021. The programmer’s crypto portfolio was worth an estimated $1.5 billion at the time, but is now worth far less after the recent ETH sell-off.
While Buterin’s exact net worth is not known, it is believed to be in the hundreds of thousands of ETH.
Although the Ethereum exec may have momentarily lost his billionaire status, he is still one of the most trusted, successful and influential figures in the crypto world.
Price Action
ETH is down 59.4% from its all-time high of $4,730 reached on Nov. 10, 2021. The $240 billion market cap blockchain is up 2.14% during the last 24 hours and is trading at $1,982.36 at press time.
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