The Shiba Inu team recently reminded Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin that SHIB funds were instrumental in supporting the Crypto Relief charitable organization.
This comes after Buterin thanked Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) for donating $10 million worth of BNB in support of his biotech project. In a tweet, the Ethereum founder noted that CZ’s financial donation will help protect humanity from airborne disease.
In a follow-up message, Buterin also expressed gratitude to Polygon’s CEO, Sandeep Nailwal, and the charitable organization Crypto Relief (now Blockchain for Impact). He thanked them for funding biomedical infrastructure in India and returning surplus funds to Balvi for global research and development.
Also worth reiterating thanks for all the support from @sandeepnailwal @CryptoRelief_, who both funded important biomedical infra in India and returned a large portion of to Balvi to expand on its research and dev mission globally.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) July 1, 2025
However, Buterin’s appreciation post notably ignored the contributions of Shiba Inu to the charitable effort. In response, members of the SHIB community called out the omission.
Team Points Out SHIB Omission in Buterin’s Appreciation Post
Notably, Kaal Dhairya, a top developer of the Shiba Inu ecosystem, pointed out that Buterin failed to acknowledge the billions of SHIB tokens that were initially used to fund Crypto Relief in its early stages.
Since @VitalikButerin forgot to mention the billions in #SHIB tokens that actually funded @CryptoRelief_, let me help complete his tweet 🐕💸
You’re welcome. https://t.co/QwPpaYVnzm— Kaal (@kaaldhairya) July 1, 2025
To recap, Nailwal launched the Crypto Relief Fund in April 2021 during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Shortly after its creation, Buterin donated 50.6 trillion SHIB, then valued at approximately $1.2 billion, to the nonprofit.
The Ethereum co-founder made the donation using a portion of the 500 trillion SHIB tokens he received from Shiba Inu’s pseudonymous founder Ryoshi.
Of the 500 trillion SHIB tokens, Buterin sent over 410 trillion of these tokens to a dead address, permanently removing them from circulation. He subsequently sent the remaining tokens to other nonprofits, with Crypto Relief receiving 50.6 trillion SHIB (worth about $1.2 billion at the time).
Shiba Inu Craving Buterin’s Recognition
Since Buterin’s initial SHIB donation contributed to Crypto Relief’s support for India’s biomedical infrastructure and Balvi’s global R&D efforts, Dhairya believes the Ethereum co-founder owes Shiba Inu a proper acknowledgment.
Additionally, Dhairya’s messages reminded the Shiba Inu community that SHIB played a part in Crypto Relief’s donations. It also positions Shiba Inu as a token that provides financial support for real-world causes, including charitable contributions.
Since last year, the Shiba Inu ecosystem team has been trying to gain Buterin’s attention following his statement that rival Dogecoin deserves to be the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
This claim did not sit well with the Shiba Inu community. Many believe SHIB deserves recognition from Buterin, given its contributions to the Ethereum ecosystem. Notably, Kusama requested a 10-minute conversation with Buterin to discuss SHIB’s potential and why it should be recognized as a top digital asset.
Despite efforts by the SHIB community to draw Buterin’s attention to Kusama’s proposal, the Ethereum co-founder has yet to respond.
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