Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has again made the news with a big donation to a Swiss project called Zuitzerland. Isla, a Web3 researcher developing the project, received the 274 ETH, equivalent to around $500,000, from Buterin, according to reports. The donation was identified by Onchain Lens, a blockchain monitoring site that tracks fund transfers.
This step is not surprising to anyone who has known about Buterin’s charitable activities and experimental associations. Zuitzerland is said to be a product of Buterin’s previous Zuzalu experiment, whose purpose was to unite like-minded people and engage into proposals on technology, longevity, and decentralized regimes.
Ethereum Donation: What Is Zuitzerland?
The Zuitzerland initiative is based on the ideas launched in the Zuzalu experiment, a short-term community project initiated by Buterin between March and May 2023, in Montenegro. Zuzalu assembled about 200 participants who worked and lived together for two months. They exchanged ideas and teamed up on projects together in workshops, discussions, and social gatherings.
Just in: Vitalik (@VitalikButerin) has sent 274.1 $ETH ($500k), as a grant or donation to a contract deployed by @0xisla, who is building @zuitzerland.
Vitalik’s Address: 0xd8da6bf26964af9d7eed9e03e53415d37aa96045
Contract Address: 0x69649512c97c630c4f06a21e09e71f0362ca74ec… pic.twitter.com/NusZDSp7tn
— Onchain Lens (@OnchainLens) April 1, 2025
Zuitzerland pushes this concept further by hosting residencies, hackathons, and citywide events for those with common interests. The platform emphasizes the development of collaboration between “thinkers and builders.” Although Buterin is not among the founders of the project, he is mentioned as a speaker and curator on its official site, indicating his support and engagement.
Funding Through Token Sales
Buterin’s contribution was partly financed by selling tokens he had earlier received as gifts from other crypto projects. According to on-chain statistics, Buterin sold 5,000 Dohrnii (DHN) tokens for $93,882 and 2 trillion LEDOG (DOG) tokens for $16,569 on March 31, 2025. The proceeds from these sales were aggregated and then sent as 274 ETH to Isla.
This is not the first time that Buterin has sold tokens gifted to him for a cause. In 2022, he sold some Shiba Inu (SHIB) tokens gifted to him in order to donate to an Indian COVID-19 relief fund. Buterin has also publicly urged token issuers to give directly to charities instead of donating tokens to him.
A History Of Token Donations
Dohrnii Labs, the developers of the DHN token, had sent 10,000 tokens to Buterin in January 2025. Likewise, LEDOG’s developers sent 10 trillion DOG tokens to him in August 2024. Although these tokens are usually given as a token of appreciation, they are also a marketing strategy for visibility. Buterin has been selling these tokens gradually over time, using the funds for donations and other things.
As of now, Buterin still retains 2 trillion DOG tokens, as per data on the blockchain. Nevertheless, his actions reveal a distinct orientation towards leveraging such assets to help initiatives such as Zuitzerland, which align with his belief in decentralized governance and innovation led by community.
Featured image from Gemini Imagen, chart from TradingView
