According to on-chain analytics firm Lookonchain, three Bitcoin whales transferred a combined 6,168 BTC to Coinbase Prime approximately six hours ago, valued at around $498.5 million at the time.
At the time of these transfers, the price of Bitcoin was around $80,800. In the preceding days, Bitcoin had been weakening and briefly dropped below $80,000 earlier this week.
Three whales deposited 6,168 BTC into Coinbase Prime.
Lookonchain identified these three large deposits through on-chain transaction data and shared a screenshot from Arkham Intelligence showing that these funds were transferred to addresses labeled as Coinbase Prime deposit wallets.
These 6,168 BTC were worth approximately $498.5 million at the time they were flagged, but the analytics firm did not disclose the wallet holder’s identity or their intentions.
Coinbase Prime is Coinbase’s institutional platform, offering cryptocurrency custody, trading, and other services to institutional investors and large holders.
Large transfers into an exchange often attract attention because holders can sell assets through their exchange accounts. However, Coinbase Prime’s custody and institutional trading services mean that deposits may also serve various purposes, such as portfolio management and transfers between different custody arrangements.
Lookonchain's report confirms the destination of the bitcoins but does not indicate whether these three holders have since sold any of the tokens.
This latest activity occurred shortly after another batch of long-dormant Bitcoin wallets saw large transfers.
On October 27, Lookonchain reported that two whales, after being inactive for approximately three years, deposited a combined total of 2,571 BTC, worth approximately $206.52 million, into Coinbase Prime.
It is reported that these two wallets transferred 986.31 BTC and 1,584.98 BTC, respectively, to the same Coinbase Prime deposit address.
At the time of these transactions, the price of Bitcoin was approximately $80,300, making the total value of the transfers exceed $206 million.
Another whale transferred $35.38 million in BTC after 16 months.
Additionally, Arkham Intelligence reported another large transfer involving a Bitcoin whale. This wallet previously withdrew hundreds of bitcoins from its Coinbase Prime custody account.
On October 28, Arkham stated that a wallet starting with bc1q9 deposited 438.37 BTC into Coinbase Prime overnight, valued at approximately $35.38 million.
This transfer occurred 16 months after 615.4 BTC were withdrawn from the same wallet via Coinbase Prime Custody, when the average price of Bitcoin was $105,271.
Arkham stated that at the time of its report, Bitcoin was trading at $80,807, meaning the holder faced an unrealized loss of over $15 million on their initial Bitcoin position.
Despite transferring out 438.37 BTC, this wallet still holds approximately 177.026 BTC, valued at around $14.31 million based on the market price in the report.
This data indicates that the holder has transferred most of the Bitcoin initially withdrawn from the custodian, while retaining a smaller balance.
Arkham has not disclosed the identity of the wallet owner, nor confirmed whether the latest transfer resulted in a completed sale.
The $35.38 million transaction reported by Arkham is an independent observation. The existing report does not indicate whether it is included in the $498.5 million total mentioned by Lookonchain; therefore, these amounts cannot be treated as separate cash flows without considering potential overlap.
Bitcoin continues to show whale activity amid weak market conditions.
The most recent deposit occurred after multiple large transfers to Bitcoin wallets during October, with on-chain tracking firms reporting several transactions flowing into and out of institutional trading platforms.
On October 26, crypto.news reported that since the beginning of this month, 40 wallets have withdrawn 9,458 BTC from the market maker Wintermute, valued at approximately $771.5 million.
Lookonchain describes these withdrawals as whale accumulation, but these transactions alone do not prove the trading price of Bitcoin or that all addresses belong to different investors.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin's recent decline has been accompanied by significant outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs and the liquidation of leveraged crypto positions.
On October 26, Bitcoin dropped below $80,000 after failing to sustain a rally toward $85,000.
Meanwhile, institutional capital flows remained volatile. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net inflow of $524.8 million on October 21, followed by a net outflow of $635.6 million on October 22 and another net outflow of $137.9 million on October 23.
Despite these withdrawals, the funds still recorded a net inflow of approximately $301.2 million over five trading days.
On-chain analytics firm Glassnode also noted that Bitcoin profit-taking activity has cooled since September, with the percentage of supply held by short-term holders in profit declining from nearly 100% at the end of September to approximately 70%.
Glassnode reports that, as Bitcoin's pullback has reduced the profitability of recently purchased coins, realized profits have dropped to about half their previous level as of October 21.
Investors are currently awaiting the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision on October 28, followed by the September Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation report on October 29, and a significant Bitcoin options contract expiring on October 30.