Crypto Whales Trigger 9% Ethereum Drop, $1 Billion USDT Mint Boosts Liquidity

This week, significant movements by crypto whales were observed, with large wallets transferring billions of dollars worth of assets in BTC, ETH, PEPE, BNB, stablecoins, and more. These transactions, tracked by on-chain tools, had immediate market impact and influenced sentiment. A notable event was a dormant whale buying 250 BTC on June 8, which was seen as a bullish sign. However, multi-hundred-million-dollar flows to exchanges mid-week indicated sell pressure.

On June 8, a long-dormant crypto whale reactivated and bought 250 BTC, valued at approximately $17.5 million. This whale had been inactive for two years and was adding to its position. On June 10, a transfer of 5,637 BTC, worth $620.8 million, occurred between unknown wallets, sparking online speculation. The following day, a significant whale withdrew 307.5 BTC, valued at $33.8 million, from Binance to cold storage, which is often seen as a bullish accumulation sign. The whale’s balance reportedly increased to 2,307 BTC, and analysts noted an 8% increase in Binance BTC/USDT trading volume after this move, indicating that traders were likely buying.

In contrast, 3,165 BTC, worth $347 million, flowed into Coinbase over two hours on June 12. Large inbound flows to an exchange often mean sell pressure. Binance commentary suggested that whales moving BTC to exchanges “might be selling.” Despite this, Bitcoin remained strong, having just broken above the $110,000 resistance. The diverging crypto whale flows—one whale pulling BTC off Binance and others sending BTC into Coinbase—created uncertainty and potential for short-term dips and rallies. Overall, these BTC crypto whale moves caused volatility. After the June 8 accumulation, Bitcoin rose slightly. The June 11 withdrawal reduced supply on exchanges and trading volume spiked. By June 12, heavy inflows to Coinbase coincided with Bitcoin trading at $108-109K, and analysts were warning of possible dips, which saw BTC drop to the $105K range. The big whale BTC moves this week opened up for more volatility as traders watched key support levels and resistance (around $110K) closely.

Ethereum also saw significant whale activity this week. On June 9, 23,075 ETH, valued at approximately $57.5 million, was moved from an unknown wallet to Binance. The transfer caused some pressure but no big drop followed immediately. The next big ETH event was on June 13 during a short-term price dip. Ethereum had a flash crash from around $2,650 to $2,518, a 9% drop, which triggered liquidations. Whales bought ETH aggressively. On-chain analysis showed one whale tied to ConsenSys buying 2,825 ETH, valued at $7.5 million, at $2,593 each. Around the same time, another whale bought 48,825 ETH, valued at $127 million, from Coinbase and Wintermute at an average of $2,605. Overall, this address bought around 160,736 ETH, valued at $421 million, in two weeks, which likely helped stabilize ETH after the crash. Also on June 13, a whale transferred 86,430 ETH, valued at approximately $237 million, to a liquid-staking platform. Instead of selling, this large holder moved ETH into staking, earning network rewards while keeping liquidity via staking tokens. Binance views this as “bullish” since large funds held off-exchange reduce supply. The accumulation after the June 13 crash showed big players buying and that helped to cushion the price.

Outside of BTC and ETH, there were some big crypto whale moves in altcoins. On June 9, 1 billion USDT was minted on Tron by Tether. Large stablecoin minting injects liquidity into the market. A whale with address 0x6ea deposited 609 billion PEPE, valued at approximately $6.43 million, to Binance. Immediately after the deposit, PEPE/USD on Binance dropped 1.2% and 24-hour volume spiked 18%. The analysis suggested this deposit likely increased short-term liquidity and indicated possible selling pressure as traders feared more selling. Another altcoin whale alert on June 13 was Binance Coin (BNB). Whale Alert showed 5,000 BNB, valued at $3 million, sent to a Binance hot wallet at 11:30 AM UTC. Such a deposit often precedes exchange activity. The commentary suggested it could mean the whale was going to sell or reposition. $3 million is small compared to BNB’s market cap, but the signal triggered caution for traders watching volume and order-books. This week, the altcoin crypto whale moves (PEPE and BNB) caused immediate reactions. PEPE dropped on the large deposit, reflecting sell-side anxiety. BNB’s large transfer caused speculation about a pullback if the whale sold.

For Bitcoin, the week saw it test and go below previous highs. BTC slightly went above $110K by Wednesday, June 11. Whale accumulation, like the June 8 reactivation, supported this move while large transfers to exchanges caused caution. When Coinbase saw $347 million inflows on Thursday, analysts warned of possible dips and said selling pressure could push BTC down to $105K-$107K. The back and forth between bullish whale moves and bearish signals caused volatility. Ethereum’s price was more volatile on Friday as a “flash crash” wiped out about 9% intraday mostly due to liquidation cascades. But crypto whale buying in that low range stopped the bleeding. ETH trading volumes surged as big orders hit the market. Sentiment flipped from panic selling by retail to cautious optimism as big whales stepped in. Technical analysis showed Ethereum was still in a higher-timeframe consolidation pattern despite the drop, partly because crypto whales accumulated aggressively during the dip. Stablecoin minting also influenced liquidity and sentiment. The Tether mint on June 9 was seen as a sign of rising bullishness: injecting $1 billion of USDT gave traders more dry powder to deploy.

In general, sentiment was a mix of FOMO from recent highs and caution from crypto whales. Market participants used whale alerts as signals: big outflows from exchanges (like BTC and ETH withdrawals) were seen as bullish backings, while big inflows (to Binance or Coinbase) were seen as downside risk. On-chain metrics reflected these behaviors. Each move rippled through the markets: volatility, sentiment, and prices. In many cases, the crypto whales were bullish (e.g., moving coins off exchanges or into staking) and in others, they were bearish (large exchange deposits). For crypto-savvy investors, these on-chain flows are important and noteworthy signals.