Major Boost For Dogecoin As Ethereum Wunderkind Buterin Declares Himself A DOGE HODLer

Dogecoin (DOGE), the crypto industry’s largest and oldest canine-themed meme coin, has received a surprising status boost after Ether (ETH) co-creator Vitalik Buterin admitted that he is a DOGE holder. This unexpected endorsement has sparked enthusiasm within the cryptosphere.

Buterin Admits He Holds DOGE

Vitalik Buterin made a surprise declaration at the 2024 Ethereum Development Conference (EDCON) in Tokyo, Japan, positioning himself as a Dogecoin holder during his presentation.

This fascinating moment was captured at the event when Buterin appeared on stage, donning a dark Japanese kimono garment paired with a white horse head mask. Appearing almost unrecognizable, the audience asked about his identity, and he identified himself as a DOGE HODLer. The Ethereum co-founder dramatically removed his mask to clear their doubts, eliciting laughter from the crowd in attendance.

Everyone: Who are you?

V: I'm a Dogecoin hodler.#EDCON2024 @dogecoin @VitalikButerin pic.twitter.com/Uyj9A0U8k3

— EDCON (@EDCON2024) July 30, 2024

Notably, Buterin’s fondness for Dogecoin has been obvious since 2015. In 2016, he revealed that he had not liquidated any of his DOGE holdings and was even planning to acquire more. And in September 2021, the man behind Ethereum floated the possibility of transitioning Dogecoin to a proof-of-stake security model using Ether’s code.

So How Much Dogecoin Does Buterin Own?

It’s not clear exactly how much DOGE Buterin currently owns. However, he revealed in a 2016 interview that he had invested roughly $25,000 because he liked the meme coin’s ethos and community. One Dogecoin was valued at around $0.0002 in 2016, meaning Buterin may have acquired roughly 125 million DOGE.

Buterin later disclosed in 2021 that his 2016 investment had amassed profits of over $4 million. At the time, he noted that purchasing Dogecoin had been one of his most successful investments.

The price of Dogecoin barely budged despite Buterin’s latest public support of the meme-inspired token. DOGE is currently trading for $0.1072, according to CoinGecko data. The eighth-largest crypto fell by 5.13% on the day and is down 16.4% over the last seven days. Although Dogecoin’s performance has been sluggish recently, market pundits remain bullish on the meme coin.