Market maker Jump Trading transferred Ethereum worth $46.44 million, causing instant fear of a sell-off wave. Coinbase announced the launch of cbBTC, an in-house alternative to Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC). Meanwhile, a Turkish port operator will invest $1.6 billion in two projects in El Salvador to help launch the country’s Bitcoin City project.
Jump Trading Team’s Notable Transfer
Market maker and trading firm Jump Trading transferred approximately 17,049 Ethereum worth $46.44 million in preparation for an expected sell-off process. According to blockchain analysis firm Lookonchain, the Ethereum worth $46.44 million requested from the liquid staking protocol Lido was put up for sale. Following the large transfer, Jump Trading reportedly started a new wave of Ethereum sales and currently holds approximately 21,394 Ethereum worth $68.58 million.
Further research based on Arkham data revealed that changes in funds were in preparation to provide liquidity for trading activities across the exchange, contradicting the sell-off narrative suggested by Lookonchain.
Coinbase Team’s Bitcoin Move
Coinbase announced the potential launch of a new product called cbBTC, with many commentators predicting that the US-based crypto exchange will release its own wrapped Bitcoin. In a post sent to X on August 13, the official Coinbase account mentioned only cbBTC and then added “coming soon” as a follow-up comment to the original post.
The mysterious posts about cbBTC came three days after BitGo (the team behind Wrapped Bitcoin) announced plans to transfer control over WBTC to a joint venture consisting of itself and Hong Kong. Crypto risk management firm Block Analitica Labs (BA Labs) proposed that decentralized finance giant MakerDAO close all new wBTC debts in the protocol and prevent new borrowing against WBTC collateral.
Yilport Holding’s Move in El Salvador
Turkish port operator Yilport Holdings is making the largest private investment in the country’s history by investing $1.6 billion in two port projects in El Salvador. This investment could help realize El Salvador’s ambitious Bitcoin City project. The agreement announced by President Nayib Bukele includes Yilport and El Salvador’s Autonomous Port Executive Commission (CEPA) jointly operating the Acajutla and La Union ports for 50 years.
According to a video on Bukele’s X account, the construction of La Union port began in 2005 but the port was never opened. La Union was first proposed by Bukele in 2021, months after the president made cryptocurrency a legal tender in the country. The new city will run entirely on Bitcoin and will be exempt from all taxes except value-added tax.
