Vitalik Buterin
Last changed 2026-10-10 · Score recalculated — Rescored under Scoring v2, the published formula (avoid.net/scoring): 25 → 67. Problems weighed by who is responsible: problems around the subject, caused by others −4.8, incidents the subject suffered −3.2; legitimacy credit long-running +10; fact-check adjustments (−10) now shown as page reliability, not in the score. Version history →
Why this score
| Every page starts at | 65 |
| Incidents it suffered (e.g. hacks) | -3.2 |
| Problems around it, caused by others | -4.8 |
| Long-running | +10 |
| Sum | 67 |
Score: 67/100 (kept between 0 and 100)
How scoring works →Summary
Vitalik Buterin is the legitimate co-founder of Ethereum and is not himself a scam actor. However, his name, likeness, and social media presence constitute one of the most heavily weaponized impersonation surfaces in crypto. Documented threats include a September 2023 SIM-swap of his X account (linked to Pink Drainer, resulting in ~$691K stolen from followers), persistent fake giveaway livestreams on YouTube, thousands of fraudulent Instagram accounts, and an escalating campaign of AI-generated deepfake videos distributing wallet-drainer phishing links.
Connected Entities
3 entities · 60 linked investigations- Ethereum→mentioned with→Vitalik Buterin(80%)
- Vitalik Buterin→mentioned with→Ethereum(65%)
- Vitalik Buterin→mentioned with→ZachXBT(70%)
- ZachXBT→mentioned with→Ethereum(70%)
Timeline(11 events)
3 October 2018
Fake Instagram account @buterin_vitalik with 24,000 followers collects 37.491 ETH (~$7,500 at the time) via a fake giveaway directing victims through a Telegram bot.
10 July 2020
CoinDesk reports that crypto giveaway scams impersonating Buterin and other figures are flourishing on YouTube, constituting an established multi-year threat vector.
4 January 2022
A fraudulent Instagram account using the handle @vitalik.eth accumulates over 570,000 followers and runs sponsored paid advertisements to promote staking scams.
18 February 2022
Group-IB documents 36 fabricated YouTube giveaway livestreams using Buterin footage over a 48-hour window; scammer wallets receive over $1.6 million in 281 transactions from more than 165,000 viewers.
15 August 2022
Vitalik Buterin publicly warns via his Twitter account that all 5,000+ Instagram accounts claiming to be him are fake and constitute scams.
2022
Attacker compromises verified journalist Aaron Goldfarb's Twitter account, redesigns it to impersonate Vitalik Buterin, and uses it to launch phishing campaigns targeting followers.
9 September 2023
Attacker SIM-swaps Buterin's T-Mobile number, resets his X account password, and posts a phishing link for a fake 'Proto-Danksharding commemorative NFT.' ZachXBT tracks losses reaching ~$691,000, including CryptoPunk #3983 (~$244,000). Attack wallet is linked to Pink Drainer.
12 September 2023
Buterin confirms publicly via Farcaster that the attack was a SIM swap via T-Mobile, and advises users to remove phone numbers from X account settings.
7 February 2024
CertiK discloses a deepfake video falsely depicting Buterin endorsing a wallet-drainer phishing site, marking an escalation from text-based impersonation to synthetic AI-generated video.
Decision Log
- slot 455368256 · hash HEM7TerQzNqqAM6RhJV1ZqZ1uuryPaHqU1URJdZQ6Mup
- slot 426279406 · hash C3fuKeu1vKUGupHEiG1J563KJrpCAZyvbvcPojD8sb8G
- slot 426279403 · hash 2PkBKU7WwcgduEPvUGqACzTai33PMoFrKL71ue7PdJam
- slot 420649405 · hash 71FYBCQ97CeUowGfmXp54qGaUQg2ajJTrQBdEYLw7jPE
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (4 decisions).
model: claude-sonnet
generated: 5/4/2026, 4:05:02 PM
last updated: 10/10/2026, 6:48:28 PM
13 viewsavoid.net — verified advice for a post-truth world