In early July, when the crypto community seemed to be quiet, a statement from the Shibarium development team caused a stir. Kaal Dhairya, the prominent developer behind the Layer-2 Shibarium network, publicly criticized Vitalik Buterin – the founder of Ethereum – for not acknowledging SHIB’s role in the Crypto Relief relief fund, now renamed Blockchain For Impact (BFI).

It all started with Vitalik’s well-intentioned thank-you tweet, after receiving a $10 million donation from CZ (Changpeng Zhao) – co-founder of Binance – for the biotechnology project he leads. In this gratitude, Vitalik did not mention the original source of assets that helped establish BFI, even though it is closely associated with the SHIB community.

On the X platform, Kaal Dhairya responded with a sarcastic tweet, noting:

"Since Vitalik Buterin forgot to mention the billions of SHIB tokens that actually funded Crypto Relief, let me help him finish his tweet. You're welcome."

Back in 2020: SHIB – The First Source of Relief Fund
To understand this tension, it's worth recalling that Vitalik Buterin received 50% of the initial supply of the meme coin SHIB (equivalent to 500 trillion tokens out of 999T). In the context of the spreading COVID-19 pandemic, Vitalik transferred billions of dollars worth of SHIB to donate to Crypto Relief, and burned the rest, an act that the community called "burning SHIB for humanity".

That donation became the initial foundation of India's largest crypto relief fund, and contributed to Vitalik's reputation as well as international attention for the SHIB community. However, his recent neglect of SHIB’s role in charity has left many feeling betrayed.

SHIB Army Reacts: “Vitalik Has Forgotten Who Helped Him Shine”
Not only Kaal Dhairya, many in the SHIB community have also expressed their outrage. Some users have called Vitalik’s actions “denying his roots,” while others have argued that SHIB was used as a temporary tool and then removed from the spotlight.

However, there are also objective opinions that Vitalik has no obligation to recognize SHIB if he considers it a voluntary donation from the community. But clearly, the symbolic and far-reaching influence of SHIB donations in crypto history cannot be denied.

SHIB Price Unaffected, But Cracks Appear
Although SHIB's price did not fluctuate much after the controversy, the event exposed a noticeable crack in the relationship between the founder of Ethereum and one of the strongest communities in the memecoin world. Notably, SHIB now has a following and social media activity that is on par with Dogecoin, even surpassing it on many platforms.

In addition, Shibarium - Shiba Inu's Layer-2 solution - is growing steadily, attracting many new projects and users. This shows that SHIB is no longer just a pure "meme coin", but is becoming a real ecosystem, contributing both technology and community to the blockchain market.

A Lesson for the Crypto Community: Gratitude and Transparency
The Shibarium-Vitalik Buterin spat is not simply a personal spat, but a poignant reminder of gratitude, fair recognition, and transparency in a decentralized ecosystem. While technology may decentralize power, human relationships—trust, respect, and recognition—remain core to sustaining growth.

As crypto moves closer to institutional money and greater regulatory pressure, personal reputation and community ethics will become increasingly important. Will Vitalik issue a clarification? Will the relationship between Ethereum and SHIB continue to fray? The answer will depend on what both sides do next. But one thing is certain: SHIB is no longer a shadow of ETH—and they want to be recognized for what they are.