In a significant turn of events, the crypto market witnessed a sharp decline Monday, with several major players depositing large amounts of Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Arbitrum's ARB token to different exchanges. This move coincided with growing concerns about crypto exchange FTX possibly liquidating its $3.4 billion digital asset portfolio.
Asset manager Abraxas Capital transferred 14,130 ETH, valued at approximately $22.5 million, to Bitfinex in two separate transactions, according to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence. Jump Trading, a major market maker, deposited nearly 236 BTC worth around $5.9 million to Binance. Wintermute, another prominent market maker, deposited over $3.3 million in ARB to Binance within the past eight hours.
These large-scale transfers occur as smaller traders keep a close eye on the movements of institutional traders who are deemed well-informed and influential in the market. Depositing tokens to exchanges could indicate an intention to sell; however, it may also be a part of market makers' strategy of moving funds between different exchanges to provide liquidity.
The crypto markets' downturn has been particularly pronounced today. Bitcoin was barely maintaining above the $25,000 level after dropping 2.8% over the past 24 hours. Ether declined by 4.7%, reaching its lowest price since March, while ARB led the drop among major cryptocurrencies with an 11% decrease on the day.
This downward trend is not unusual for September, which has historically been a turbulent month for digital assets. Data from Coinglass indicates that Bitcoin has recorded negative returns every year since 2016.
Ripple's XRP token also experienced a drop of over 5% in the past 24 hours. In other news, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) clarified its operations in India amid this market uncertainty. Additionally, the former CEO of Algorand is reportedly set to lead a company that will take over the operations of bankrupt crypto lender Celsius.
The crypto market continues to monitor these developments closely as it navigates through this period of volatility.
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