In a recent flurry of significant digital asset transfers, Ethereum (ETH) investors with considerable financial reserves, colloquially known as whales, have moved approximately $140 million of the cryptocurrency into leading exchanges such as Coinbase, Kraken, and OKX.
According to data from the Ethereum blockchain, first reported n by whale monitoring service Whale Alert, underscores a trend among notable ETH investors, with several transactions worth millions of dollars moving to exchanges after the supply of the second-largest digital asset by market capitalization fell on exchanges in June.
One transaction involved a transfer of 20,000 ETH (valued at just over $38 million) from Arbitrum (ARB), a layer-2 scaling solution, to the popular San Francisco-based digital asset exchange, Kraken.
In another striking move, a transaction amounting to $48.3 million (equivalent to 25,264 ETH) was sent from an unidentified wallet to Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange platform in the U.S. based on transaction volume.
On top of that, another cryptocurrency whale moved 30,000 ETH (worth nearly $57.7 million) to OKX, a Seychelles-registered digital currency exchange. Notably, these large transactions come as major financial powerhouses that collectively manage an astounding $27 trillion in assets are making inroads into the world of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency after a race to list the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States kicked off.
A recent report from Goldman Sachs citing on-chain data, the supply of the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Bitcoin, tumbled on exchanges by 4%, approaching levels recorded in December 2022. This was the lowest level witnessed since November 2020, immediately prior to the 2021 bull market.
Goldman Sachs’ report also noted that Ether’s supply on exchanges dropped by 5.8%, reaching a level that hasn’t been seen since May 2018. This propensity towards self custody is propelled by a convergence of factors, the banking giant stated. These include spot exchanges facing regulatory headwinds, and cyber hacks and theft remaining a concern.
For Ether specifically, Ether staked Ether withdrawals have “resulted in investors’ preference to stake ether, instead of passively holding on exchanges.”
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