Bitcoin Inflow Reaches 5-Month High as 40,000 BTC Move Into Coinbase
This past weekend, the bitcoin market experienced turmoil after on-chain analyst CryptoQuant flagged over 40,000 bitcoins flowing into Coinbase Pro Exchange. The unusually large transfer triggered fears of an imminent sell-off, with some Twitter users calling for the flagship crypto to dip further into the $20K zone.
Coinbase Internal Movements
At the same time, Wu Blockchain detected 37,154 BTC moving from Coinbase Pro, hinting that the transactions weren’t a result of whale activity but Coinbase’s internal transfers.
CryptoQuant has now come out to confirm that the inflows and outflows were a result of Coinbase’s internal shuffling.
“We sorted out 12.2k out of 40k BTC as an internal shuffling of Coinbase, but 27.8k BTC were back to previous Coinbase wallets,” the firm tweeted on Monday.
Investors worried that if the transfers were a one-sided event, then a whale was likely getting ready to dump a massive amount of coins. Such a scenario would be highly bearish BTC prices, which are currently very susceptible to large swings due to low market liquidity.
On-chain analysis has also confirmed that bitcoin net flows into exchanges have registered a 5-month high of 28,700, with most of the net flows coming from the Coinbase exchange.
BTC Price Settles Below $32K
The BTC price has managed to hold the $31,000 support zone, despite fears of an imminent retracement following the Coinbase transaction saga mentioned above. However, king coin continues to trade in a bearish zone below $33K, despite hopes of a weekend relief rally.
On July 19, bitcoin settled below the $32K support zone and formed a low near $31,150 before correcting some losses. As of this article’s writing, the top crypto is trading just above the $31.4K level, per data from coinmarketcap.
In the coming sessions, BTC will likely continue its range-bound trading. The bulls must surmount the trend line resistance at $31,850 to catalyze a decent recovery above $32K.
Coinbase CEO Defends Crypto
In a recent Twitter thread, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong responded to Dogecoin creator Jackson Palmer’s brutal attack on crypto.
The CEO of the Nasdaq-listed exchange called cryptocurrencies like bitcoin a “much-needed breath of fresh air” for those tired of strict controls from financial watchdogs. Armstrong highlighted some of the benefits of crypto assets, explaining that they provide more financial freedom and inclusion.
The crypto advocate also argued cryptocurrencies do not impose accredited investor laws that lockout retail investors, as is the case with some traditional investment instruments.
Therefore, investors from all walks of life were able to purchase coins during bitcoin’s early inception, creating unprecedented wealth mobility and equal financial opportunities for all.
“This is part of why Bitcoin has made so many people wealthy. It was not a security, so regular people could invest early on,” the Coinbase co-founder concluded.
