Key Takeaways
- • PopVax, a Hyderabad-based biotech startup, dosed its first two volunteers in Melbourne, Australia, on August 31 with a COVID-19 vaccine now in human trials.
- • According to PopVax, Balvi, Vitalik Buterin's science fund, and the Gates Foundation contributed $20 million to the program, with Balvi's share traced to Shiba Inu (SHIB) tokens sent to Buterin without his consent.
- • The SHIB tokens were sent in May 2021 when Shiba Inu's anonymous creators transferred half the supply to Buterin; he burned 90%, worth over $6 billion at the time.
- • PopVax founder Soham Sankaran says the vaccine will be open-sourced with Balvi after Phase I concludes.
- • SHIB fell 4.33% in 24 hours and 9.64% over seven days, with the Shiba Inu team attributing the decline to forced selling tied to leveraged positions and arguing early breakout signals are forming.
Summary
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has helped fund a COVID-19 vaccine now in human trials, according to BeInCrypto. The money traces back to Shiba Inu tokens that were sent to Buterin without his request. PopVax, a biotech startup based in Hyderabad, India, dosed its first two volunteers in Melbourne, Australia, on August 31. According to PopVax, Balvi, Buterin's science fund, and the Gates Foundation put $20 million into the program, and the startup says Balvi's funds came from SHIB tokens.
The tokens arrived in May 2021, when Shiba Inu's anonymous creators sent Buterin half of the token supply. He burned 90% of them, a stake worth more than $6 billion at the time. Buterin separately donated $1 billion in COVID-related support to an Indian relief fund, and Balvi later developed from that same Shiba Inu funding base. This historical context is drawn from earlier coverage of those 2021 events and does not describe current developments.
PopVax founder Soham Sankaran says the vaccine will go open-source with Balvi once Phase I ends, with the stated aim of a broadly protective, refrigerator-stable vaccine that any scientist or manufacturer can adapt and produce without IP constraints. Buterin also recommended PopVax to his followers on X.
Meanwhile, SHIB itself is under pressure. The token dropped 4.33% in 24 hours and 9.64% over the past seven days, according to BeInCrypto's price data. The Shiba Inu team attributes the decline to forced selling within crypto that deepened after a broader market selloff earlier in the month, which left leveraged traders exposed. The team argues the market is turning bullish and that SHIB is showing early breakout signals. Not all market participants share that view; one prominent trader dismissed SHIB as dead in June.
The tokens arrived in May 2021, when Shiba Inu's anonymous creators sent Buterin half of the token supply. He burned 90% of them, a stake worth more than $6 billion at the time. Buterin separately donated $1 billion in COVID-related support to an Indian relief fund, and Balvi later developed from that same Shiba Inu funding base. This historical context is drawn from earlier coverage of those 2021 events and does not describe current developments.
PopVax founder Soham Sankaran says the vaccine will go open-source with Balvi once Phase I ends, with the stated aim of a broadly protective, refrigerator-stable vaccine that any scientist or manufacturer can adapt and produce without IP constraints. Buterin also recommended PopVax to his followers on X.
Meanwhile, SHIB itself is under pressure. The token dropped 4.33% in 24 hours and 9.64% over the past seven days, according to BeInCrypto's price data. The Shiba Inu team attributes the decline to forced selling within crypto that deepened after a broader market selloff earlier in the month, which left leveraged traders exposed. The team argues the market is turning bullish and that SHIB is showing early breakout signals. Not all market participants share that view; one prominent trader dismissed SHIB as dead in June.
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