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Vitalik Buterin Closes Seven-Month Short Trade on RAI Token, Netting $92,000

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin closed a seven-month short position on the non-pegged purported stablecoin RAI, netting a cool $92,000, according to on-chain records.

Buterin took the trade out in May and June, borrowing 400,000 RAI and selling it for $1.2 million of DAI, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. This created an effective short position on RAI against the US dollar.

Buterin closed the position on Jan. 22, selling $1.13 million of DAI and ether for RAI. He was left with a gain of $92,000, according to those on-chain records from Buterin's Ethereum wallet (as noted by on-chain researcher kyoronut on Twitter).

Built by Reflexer Labs, RAI is an experimental “stablecoin” that isn’t pegged to any specific token or fiat currency but is backed by ether. Those who want to mint RAI have to lock up their ether as collateral and pay a 2% fee. 

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