Coinbase Institutional, the prime brokerage arm of the US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, has moved approximately $70 million worth of Shiba Inu (SHIB) to an anonymous wallet on July 23. This transaction, as noted by Whale Alert, marked the largest SHIB coin transfer of the year. Previously, in early June, three sequential transactions ranging from $31.6 to $44 million were conducted on the same platform.
The Largest SHIB Coin Transaction of the Year
The transfer, valued at around $70 million, was recorded as the largest over-the-counter transaction executed by Coinbase Institutional for corporate portfolios, occurring away from public exchanges. The transaction involved the transfer of coins from a wallet under the company’s custody to a target wallet of unknown origin in a single move. In June, SHIB worth nearly $120 million was transferred over three transactions.
While the purpose of this massive transfer was not disclosed, experts remind us that high-volume over-the-counter transactions often signify liquidity rebalancing or portfolio adjustment. Coinbase Institutional aims to mitigate sudden price fluctuations in the spot market by conducting large-scale cryptocurrency trades on behalf of investment funds and high-net-worth individuals.
Institutional Interest in Shiba Inu Remains
On July 23, the day of the transfer, the price of SHIB declined by over 10%. The following day, the altcoin witnessed an additional drop of 4%, compounded by a simultaneous wave of sales across the altcoin market. Investors attributed the significant pullback in the meme coin to a weakening risk appetite. Despite entering the top 10 by market cap briefly in 2021, SHIB has now fallen out of CoinMarketCap’s top 25 cryptocurrencies.
Despite the selling pressure on price, the substantial block transfer indicates that institutional interest has not entirely waned. Redistributing liquidity via over-the-counter channels could influence market depth in the coming weeks. Given the high volatility characteristic of the meme coin market, such transactions possess the potential to both heighten and constrain price volatility. For institutional addresses, transactions of this magnitude also act as a market sentiment test.
