Bitcoin (BTC) exchanges may have just seen the largest exodus of user funds ever, data suggests.
Data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode shows that on Nov. 23, major exchanges were down almost 179,000 BTC in monthly withdrawals.
Major exchanges see record BTC withdrawals
With FTX contagion still in the air, exchange users have been busy withdrawing funds to noncustodial wallets.
As Cointelegraph reported, $3 billion worth of cryptocurrency left major platforms in the immediate aftermath of FTX imploding.
That trend is ongoing, Glassnode shows, with its data capturing the largest-ever decrease in exchange BTC reserves for the 30 days to Nov. 23.
Glassnode’s Exchange Net Position Change metric puts the 30-day change of the BTC supply held in exchange wallets at -178,683 BTC. The metric covers 20 exchanges, including FTX.
Exchange BTC net position change chart. Source: Glassnode
On a day-to-day basis, exchange user habits remain volatile. After seeing nearly 140,000 BTC in daily outflows on Nov. 9 alone, exchanges processed less in withdrawals, with a local low of under 19,000 BTC recorded for Nov. 19.
Since then, however, the trend has reversed, and Nov. 23 outflows totaled more than 86,000 BTC, according to Glassnode.
BTC total transfer volume from exchanges chart. Source: Glassnode HitBTC gets Mt. Gox hack deposit
Elsewhere, fellow on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant raised the alarm about a major tranche of BTC from the 2014 hack of exchange Mt. Gox.
According to CEO, Ki Young Ju, the stolen BTC is on the move, with 65 BTC sent to exchange HitBTC.
“7-year-old 10,000 $BTC moved today. No surprise, it's from criminals, like most of the old Bitcoins. It's the BTC-e exchange wallet related to the 2014 Mt. Gox hack. They sent 65 BTC to hitbtc a few hours ago, so it's not a gov auction or something,” he tweeted.
Ki called on HitBTC to freeze funds from the incoming wallet.
Bitcoin exchange inflows (BTC last moved at least 7 years ago). Source: CryptoQuant
Separate research from Chainalysis meanwhile noted mass processing of Mt. Gox coins associated with exchange BTC-e, which itself shut down in 2017.
Several exchanges, along with private wallets and others, have received BTC-e bitcoins in recent weeks, it explained in a blog post on Nov. 23.
As Cointelegraph reported, movement of old coins in September also sparked panic, as the Mt. Gox rehabilitation process drew to an end.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
