Over $120 million worth of Bitcoin was transferred across major exchanges in a flurry of large transactions on Tuesday.
Blockchain tracker Whale Alert picked up 2,818 BTC worth $75.8 million sent to Coinbase. Soon after, 1,630 BTC valued at $43.82 million were withdrawn from Bybit.
Coinbase transaction hints at internal transfer
On-chain analysis hints that the Coinbase transfer may have involved internal operations. The sender wallet pulled the same BTC amount from Coinbase days earlier, suggesting optimization of exchange reserves.
The Bybit withdrawal originated from its known cold wallet holding over 34,000 BTC worth nearly $1 billion. Exchanges shuffle funds between hot and cold storage for security.
Also read: Latin America Favors Centralized Exchanges Over DeFi: Report
While eye-popping, the back-and-forth transfers between centralized exchange coffers seem to reflect institutional crypto players maneuvering digital assets.
Major exchanges regularly enact large shuffles between company wallets as part of standard procedures. But all big transactions bear watching in case they presage increased selling activity.
For now, the giant yet relatively routine Bitcoin reallocations highlight the massive scale of holdings concentrated across centralized trading platforms. Their recurring transfers exemplify crypto’s evolution into a new asset class, questioning traditional notions of what constitutes a whale.