The crypto community found itself abuzz with speculation as Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin made a notable deposit of $330,000 in crypto into Railgun’s privacy protocol. On April 15, blockchain monitoring tool Scopescan flagged Buterin’s transfer of 100 Ether (ETH) to Railgun, executed from his ENS-tagged wallet, vitalik.eth.
It was revealed that Buterin has been utilizing the Railgun protocol for the past six months, consistently depositing small amounts of ETH. DefiLlama describes Railgun as an EVM dapp offering privacy features for on-chain lending and token swaps, leveraging zk-SNARK encryption technology to maintain anonymity while proving asset ownership.
Since its launch on Ethereum in January 2021, Railgun has garnered significant traction, boasting nearly $35 million in total value locked. However, Buterin’s recent endorsement sparked a flurry of discussions within the crypto community, with various theories emerging regarding his motives behind the deposit.
Some speculated that Buterin may be engaging in speculative activities within Ethereum’s ecosystem while evading tracking, while others suggested more mundane reasons such as bill payments. In response, Buterin cryptically stated, “Privacy is normal,” emphasizing Railgun’s commitment to anonymity without compromising security.
Following Buterin’s endorsement, Railgun’s native token RAIL experienced a staggering surge of over 140% in value, trading at approximately $1.36 according to CoinGecko. This trend echoes previous instances where Buterin’s endorsement of underlying protocols has led to significant price rallies, such as the case of the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) in January, which saw a nearly 40% increase after Buterin advocated for trustless, Merkle-proof-based solutions.
Buterin’s endorsement of Railgun underscores the significant influence and impact he wields within the crypto space, with his actions often serving as catalysts for market movements and community discussions.
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