“How Effective Altruists Influenced Vitalik Buterin to donate $1 Billion in Crypto Meme Coins” by EAHistorian
This may be the first in a sequence of posts sharing little-known interesting stories from the history of Effective Altruism. In 2021, Effective Altruists played a role in encouraging Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, to liquidate and donate a substantial portion of his meme coin holdings, valued at billions, to high-impact causes such as COVID-19 relief efforts in India. Here's a chronological breakdown of the what worked and the individuals involved. I have no connection to any of the people involved. 🗓️ Late April to Early May 2021 Background: Vitalik Buterin had been gifted large quantities of meme tokens like SHIB and AKITA, totaling approximately $13 billion at their peak. These tokens were sent by their creators to Vitalik's public wallet as a publicity stunt, assuming he would never cash them out. 🗓️ May 7-10, 2021 In an Effective Altruism (EA) Facebook group, Greg Colbourn noticed [...] ---Outline:(00:08) This may be the first in a sequence of posts sharing little-known interesting stories from the history of Effective Altruism.(00:41) 🗓️ Late April to Early May 2021(01:06) 🗓️ May 7-10, 2021(01:41) 🗓️ May 10-12, 2021(02:29) 🗓️ May 12-13, 2021(03:09) 🗓️ May 13, 2021: Community Reactions and Reflection(03:43) 🗓️ Mid-May 2021(04:02) 🗓️ May 14-20, 2021: Media Coverage Picks Up(04:25) 🗓️ Late May 2021: Reflecting on Success and Future Plans--- First published: January 5th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/HdpiBp9hRvnwYP8j4/how-effective-altruists-influenced-vitalik-buterin-to-donate --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.