Buterin himself took steps to quell the false rumors on Sunday night, posting a tongue-in-cheek picture on Twitter. The picture refers to a new use case for blockchain and cites a new piece of data from Ethereum to show he is still alive—it's like a geek's version of holding up today's newspaper.
Buterin's posting appears to have helped quell the sell-off that followed the fake headline about his death. But the whole episode shows how digital currencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin, which are already volatile, can be subject to market manipulation. (It's possible of course that someone posted the fake death headline as a mere prank—but the more likely explanation is the stunt was intended to move the market).
The death hoax came amid a rocky few days for Ethereum. Last week, a so-called "flash crash" saw the crypto-currency briefly plummet to ten cents on a major exchange, before bouncing back up to a price of over $300.Ethereum, which has emerged this year as a serious rival to bitcoin, has been on a tear since early this year when it sold for only $10.