Coinbase, one of the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchanges, recently executed a series of unusual Shiba Inu (SHIB) token transfers that raised concerns about potential whale activity. Between October 22 and 23, 2025, the exchange moved a total of 1,265,207,242,406 SHIB, valued at approximately $12.7 million, across five distinct blocks rather than a single transaction.
The transfers were broken down into specific amounts: 551.6 billion, 414.8 billion, 240.5 billion, 238.6 billion, and 220.4 billion SHIB. In each case, Coinbase was listed as both the sender and receiver, with the tokens routed through empty addresses that had no prior transaction history and were emptied immediately after use. This pattern indicated an internal restructuring process, likely involving temporary routing addresses for operational management.
Despite the large volume, the movements did not impact SHIB's supply, demand, or price. At the time, SHIB was trading around $0.0000101, after falling to $0.0000090 earlier in October. However, the activity distorted liquidity visibility on the exchange, creating a false impression of massive outflows that could mislead on-chain analysts into interpreting it as significant market manipulation or whale behavior.
This episode underscores the complexity of tracking real liquidity in centralized exchanges, where internal balance management can mimic external market activity without affecting actual ownership or trends. Analysts note that such operational details are crucial to avoid misinterpretations in the fast-moving crypto market.
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