$498.5M in Bitcoin moved by three whales to Coinbase Prime overnight

Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain reported that these three whales deposited the Bitcoin into Coinbase Prime roughly six hours before its October 28 report. The transactions involved distinct wallets, totaling an amount approaching half a billion dollars.

The transfers occurred as Bitcoin traded around $80,800, following recent price weakness that had seen the cryptocurrency drop below $80,000 earlier that week. Lookonchain identified these large deposits using blockchain transaction data, showing screenshots from Arkham Intelligence of transfers to Coinbase Prime deposit wallets.

Coinbase Prime functions as Coinbase's institutional platform, providing services such as cryptocurrency custody and trading for large holders and institutional investors. Deposits to exchanges can signal selling intentions, but Coinbase Prime's services allow for portfolio management and custody transfers.

Earlier this week, on October 27, Lookonchain noted another significant movement: two whales deposited 2,571 BTC, amounting to approximately $206.52 million, into Coinbase Prime after being inactive for about three years. These wallets transferred 986.31 BTC and 1,584.98 BTC, respectively, to the same Coinbase Prime deposit address.

Separately, Arkham Intelligence reported an October 28 transfer involving a whale who had previously withdrawn from Coinbase Prime custody. A wallet prefixed bc1q9 deposited 438.37 BTC, valued at approximately $35.38 million, into Coinbase Prime overnight.

This transfer followed the same wallet withdrawing 615.4 BTC from Coinbase Prime Custody 16 months prior, when the average price was $105,271. Arkham noted that at the time of its October 28 finding, Bitcoin was trading at $80,807, leaving the holder with an unrealized loss exceeding $15 million on the original position.

The latest deposits follow other large movements in October, such as 40 wallets withdrawing a combined 9,458 BTC, valued near $771.5 million, from market maker Wintermute on October 26.

Bitcoin's recent price decline has coincided with substantial liquidations across leveraged crypto positions and withdrawals from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $524.8 million inflows on October 21, followed by $635.6 million outflows on October 22 and $137.9 million outflows on October 23, though they ended the five-session period with about $301.2 million in net inflows.

Glassnode indicated that Bitcoin profit-taking activity has cooled since September. The proportion of short-term holder supply in profit dropped from nearly 100% in late September to about 70%, and realized profits declined to roughly half their previous levels by October 21. Investors are now anticipating the Federal Reserve's October 28 interest rate decision and the September Personal Consumption Expenditures inflation report on October 29.