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Bitcoin Worth $1.2B Leaves Coinbase in a Sign of Persistent Institutional Adoption
Coinbase outflows represent continued institutional adoption of bitcoin as a macro asset, analytics firm Glassnode said.
Updated May 11, 2023, 4:38 p.m. Published Mar 15, 2022, 10:43 a.m.
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While bitcoin's four-month bearish price action appears to have scared away retail leverage traders, institutions focused on longer-term horizons seem unperturbed.
That's evident from the recent large outflow of coins from the U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN), according to blockchain analytics firm Glassnode.
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- A total of 31,130 bitcoin left Coinbase last week, the highest single-week outflow since 2017, data tracked by Glassnode shows.
- "Large outflows like this one are actually part of a consistent trend in the Coinbase balance, which has been stair-stepping downwards over the last two years," Glassnode said in a weekly newsletter published Monday. "As the largest exchange by BTC balance, and a preferred venue for U.S. based institutions, this further supports the adoption of bitcoin as a macro asset by larger institutions."
- The past week's outflow has pushed the number of coins held on the Nasdaq-listed exchange to a four-year low of 649,500 BTC. The balance held across all centralized exchanges has dropped to 2,519,403 BTC, the lowest number since November 2018.
- The declining exchange balance means fewer coins are available for liquidations on the exchange. In other words, the sell-side liquidity is drying up, suggesting scope for a sharp move on the higher side, especially as the coins withdrawn from Coinbase were moved to a largely inactive wallet.
- "If we look at the Illiquid Supply Shock Ratio (ISSR), we can see a significant uptick this week, suggesting that these withdrawn coins have been moved into a wallet with little-to-no history of spending," Glassnode said.
- Bitcoin was last seen trading near $38,600, representing a 2% drop on the day.
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KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
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Here's what bitcoin bulls are saying as price remains stuck during global rally
It's about a lot more than "zooming out." Supply overhangs and investor "muscle memory" regarding gold help explain bitcoin's poor absolute and relative performance.
What to know:
- Bitcoin has failed so far to act as an inflation hedge or safe-haven asset, lagging badly behind gold, which has surged amid high inflation, wars, and interest rate uncertainty.
- Crypto advocates argue that bitcoin’s weakness reflects a temporary supply overhang, investor “muscle memory” favoring familiar precious metals and its correlation with risk assets, rather than a collapse in long-term demand.
- Many bitcoin proponents still see BTC as a superior long-term store of value and “digital gold,” predicting that, once traditional hard assets are overbought, capital will rotate into bitcoin, allowing it to “catch up” to gold.
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