Theories abound after Coinbase transfers millions to an unknown address

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Why did Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) just send $150 million to an unknown wallet? Inquiring minds want to know. The cryptocurrency exchange reportedly sent – and then received – 18,899 Bitcoin Core (BTC), worth around $153 million, to an unknown wallet with four different addresses this week. There were several transactions involved that show amounts of 0.302 BTC, 1999.89 BTC, 9899.89 BTC, and 6,999.85 BTC to and from the four destinations in a transaction logged on June 12.

Whale Alert, which monitors crypto transfers to find large transfers like this one, first pointed out the transfer. A crypto enthusiast, C3|Nik, mentioned it, as well, stating, “18,900 Bitcoin were transferred to Coinbase a few hours ago. An easy way to freak out some people who interpret these kinds of transactions as an impending ‘dump.’ A few hours later, a total of 18,900 are transferred out of Coinbase again in three separate transactions. Fake.”

As soon as the first announcement was made, the rumor mills starting churning out their comments, with some stating that it was an attempt by Coinbase to jumpstart the market. However, C3|Nik reported back in, showing that the market didn’t react. He stated, “The market did not react much. It seems like a lot of the people who interpret these transfers as legitimate learned their lesson …. or got liquidated.”

Coinbase recently announced that it is finally going to follow up on a year-old promise to introduce batching. Perhaps this was a way for Brian Armstrong, the company’s co-founder and CEO, to show everyone that he’s following through. However, given the fact that so many eyes are watching the market, looking for even the smallest glitch, it would most likely be wise to not carry out tests on a live network, or at least let users know what’s going on.

Another user chimed in, wanting some guidance on a legitimate question shared by many. He asked, “Why does Coinbase let 18,900 BTC move in and out so easily, but when I want to move a measly $500 worth, I have to wait a week?”

It’s worth pointing out that moving that amount of money doesn’t come cheap. According to transaction data, about $300 million in transactions was conducted this week, which cost users $274.92. Of these, the Coinbase transaction that received the $150 million took the lion’s share with $268.45.