Three crypto whales withdrew more than $150 million worth of Ethereum (ETH) from the crypto exchanges Binance and Kraken in the past week.
All three addresses were newly created wallets, according to the blockchain tracker Lookonchain.
The first whale withdrew 35,860 ETH worth more than $64 million from Binance across a series of transactions.
The second pulled out 27,000 Ethereum worth more than $48 million from Binance across four withdrawals.
And the third wallet withdrew 23,660 ETH worth more than $42 million from Kraken across five transactions.
The withdrawals could possibly be reflective of traders choosing to self-custody their crypto amid the recent regulatory crackdown on the digital asset sector in the US.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Binance, the largest global crypto exchange by trading volume, and the company’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao, for allegedly violating securities laws.
A day later, the SEC also sued Coinbase, alleging the top US crypto exchange had operated as an unregistered securities exchange, broker and clearing agency.
Despite the regulatory uncertainty, some select crypto traders continue to make money in the digital asset marketplace. Lookonchain notes that one “smart whale” has netted more than $6 million trading Lido Staked Ether (stETH) in the past three months.
“Bought 27,606 stETH at $1,629 from Mar 13 to Mar 15.
Sold 12,746 stETH at $1,937 on Apr 21.
Bought 15,701 stETH at $1,671 on June 15.
Sold 15,125 stETH at $1,724 on June 19.”
Ethereum is trading at $1,787 at time of writing. The second-ranked crypto asset by market cap is up nearly 3% in the past 24 hours.
Don't Miss a Beat – Subscribe to get email alerts delivered directly to your inboxGenerated Image: Midjourney