Coinbase Records Over $1B Bitcoin (BTC) In Hours, What Happened?

American multinational crypto trading juggernaut Coinbase Global Inc. has experienced an unusual Bitcoin outflow that has sparked conversations on crypto X.

The Coinbase Bitcoin Outflow

According to data shared by Julio Moreno, the Head of Research at crypto analytics platform CryptoQuant, as many as 18,746 Bitcoin have been moved out of the trading platform. This sum according to current market data is worth $971,781,017.48. One intriguing trend in this transaction is that the 18,746 BTC units were moved in 2 transactions at the same block.

There are different explanations for the movement as it might mean it is a whale that is transferring the assets for safe-keeping. The CryptoQuant Analyst pointed out that the Bitcoin is going into custody as new addresses are being created with large holdings worth 866 Bitcoin units or more. 

Largest hourly #Bitcoin outflow in 2024 from Coinbase today: 18,746 Bitcoin moved in two transactions at the same block.

However, the transactions have all the patterns that would suggest:
– The Bitcoin is going into custody (input consolidation, new addresses being created… pic.twitter.com/FvH1wBXg1X

— Julio Moreno (@jjcmoreno) February 19, 2024

This massive transaction is considered the largest hourly Bitcoin outflow since the start of this year and another explanation is that the wallet that moved the BTC is just a whale making internal wallet reorganization.

Per Moreno’s observation, the majority of the Bitcoin transfers were dormant as they had not been moved on-chain since at least December 2018.

Large Bitcoin outflows and movements from one wallet to another are not uncommon in the digital currency ecosystem, especially since the emergence of spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) products ushered in institutional investors in the United States.

As more capital flowed into the Bitcoin ETF from the major issuers like BlackRock and Fidelity Investments among others, these funds were pushed into custody accounts with Coinbase mostly at the receiving end.

Bitcoin Whales are Re-Strategizing

Bitcoin whales are currently bullish with robust activity spotted on-chain. According to data from IntoTheBlock (ITB), total whale transaction volume in 24 hours has jumped by 4.38% to $28.72 billion. Per the data analytics platform, these large transactions are trades that exceed $100,000.

The uptick is evident that more institutional investors are making their entry into the Bitcoin world and another major proof is the more than $2.45 billion inflow recorded in the past week.

At the time of writing, the price of Bitcoin is currently worth $51,920.60, up by 1.2% in the past 24 hours. With the Bitcoin outflow notably tilting toward positivity, this might trigger more price upsurge in the long term.