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The cryptocurrency community has been intrigued by recent developments on the Ethereum layer-2 protocol Starknet (STRK). Notably, Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum cofounder, has initiated the unlocking of 2.1 million STRK tokens, valued at approximately $858,700, in two rounds.
Buterin's strategic moves fuel speculations
Per insights from Lookonchain, Vitalik Buterin initiated the transfer from his Ethereum wallet to a new one. This move signals that the Ethereum cofounder has decided to move his holdings to STRK, the native token of the Starknet network, a move many have given different explanations for.
Starknet is an Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution designed to improve scalability and transaction efficiency. At the time of its launch, Buterin was one of the seed investors and likely received an allocation of STRK tokens as part of his role. Starknet and Ethereum are two of his biggest holdings.
Therefore, the unlocking of 2.1 million tokens indicates that the set period for the asset to remain vested has elapsed. With the tokens now accessible to Buterin, his decision to transfer the seed investment to a new wallet has sparked speculation among community members.
Community concerns and market reactions
Many market analysts believe Buterin's move signals the dumping of STRK tokens. They have expressed concerns over the possible impact this would have on the asset's value. A user, Kube (@9xix113), considers it an impending bearish time ahead for Starknet.
According to him, no one sells diamonds at the value of copper, implying that Buterin might have been reorganizing his assets.
While the speculations and projections continue, no concrete reason for the suspicious transfer has been given. Regardless, given Buterin’s huge influence, his move can impact market sentiment around specific tokens.
At the time of writing, STRK stayed green with a 4.15% increase and exchanged hands at $0.401. Similarly, its market volume in the past 24 hours registered a 105.62% rise to $115,007,118.
Arman Shirinyan
Alex Dovbnya
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin