Institutional Crypto Whales Move Nearly $1 Billion in BTC and ETH Over 48 Hours

Institutional investors executed a flurry of high-value cryptocurrency transfers over the past two days, moving close to $1 billion worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum across exchanges and custody wallets, according to on-chain data compiled by market observers.

The activity was dominated by three distinct movements: an unidentified entity sent roughly $129 million in Ether to six centralized exchanges, trading firm Cumberland moved $37.66 million in ETH off Binance, and Japanese investment company Metaplanet transferred its largest single batch of Bitcoin ever to Coinbase Prime.

Unidentified Entity Sends 52,739 ETH to Exchanges

An unnamed institution transferred 52,739 ETH to six centralized exchanges, including Binance and OKX, over a two-day span. The holdings, valued at approximately $129 million, were first consolidated into two wallets before being distributed across the platforms.

The addresses still hold 101,561 ETH worth about $249 million, leaving the entity with substantial exposure even after the recent transfers.

On-chain history reveals the Ether was originally withdrawn from Coinbase in 2021 and 2022 at an average cost of $1,700 per token. The assets were subsequently staked on the Ethereum network in 2023 and removed from staking positions in January of last year.