Blockchain enthusiasts and members of the crypto community were abuzz with speculation following the revelation that Ethereum’s co-creator, Vitalik Buterin, deposited $330,000 worth of cryptocurrency into Railgun’s privacy protocol.
On April 15, Scopescan, a blockchain monitoring tool, observed a transfer of 100 Ether (ETH) from Buterin’s ENS-tagged wallet, vitalik.eth, to the decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Railgun. Notably, this wasn’t the first instance of Buterin utilizing the protocol, as reports indicated that he had made several smaller ETH deposits over the preceding six months.
Railgun, described by DefiLlama as an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) decentralized application (dapp), offers privacy features for on-chain lending and token swaps. Utilizing zk-SNARK encryption technology, it allows participants to prove possession of assets or data without revealing them, enhancing privacy while maintaining security.
Since its launch on the Ethereum network in January 2021, Railgun has garnered significant attention, with nearly $35 million in total value locked.
The crypto community took to social media platforms to speculate on Buterin’s motives for depositing into Railgun. Some suggested that he might be engaging in speculative activities within Ethereum’s ecosystem while avoiding surveillance, while others theorized more practical reasons such as bill payments.
Responding to the speculation, Buterin emphasized the importance of privacy, stating, “Privacy is normal.” He clarified that Railgun’s privacy features were designed to safeguard anonymity without compromising security.
Following Buterin’s remarks, Railgun’s native token, RAIL, experienced a remarkable surge of over 140%, as reported by CoinGecko. The token’s price surged to approximately $1.36 in the wake of this development.
This isn’t the first instance of an Ethereum-based token experiencing a price surge after receiving an endorsement from Buterin. In January, after Buterin advocated for more trustless solutions based on Merkle proofs, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) saw a significant increase of nearly 40%.
Buterin’s involvement continues to be closely watched within the crypto space, with each move prompting speculation and influencing market dynamics.
