Binance logs 3-year high in ETH withdrawals; Riot moves 500 BTC

Binance recorded more than 166,000 ether withdrawal transactions on July 3, the highest single-day count in over three years. On the same day, Riot Platforms moved 500 BTC into custody at NYDIG.

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost reported the withdrawal total. Ether traded near $1,725 on July 3. Darkfost wrote that the withdrawals could reflect holders moving coins into self-custody or reallocating assets into decentralized finance protocols that offer yield.

Despite the record transaction count, Binance’s netflow that day remained positive at 12,938 ETH, meaning more ether moved onto the exchange than left it. CryptoQuant analyst PelinayPA wrote that positive netflow increases the ease with which coins on exchanges can be sold, a factor that can raise near-term selling risk.

U.S. spot ether exchange-traded funds returned to net inflows on July 3, adding about $29.1 million. BlackRock’s ETHA accounted for roughly $29.7 million of reported ETF flows. Those ETF inflows occurred while ether traded around $1,700.

Riot Platforms transferred 500 BTC, about $30.7 million at current prices, into NYDIG custody. Riot has previously moved BTC to NYDIG before conducting on-chain sales, including a similar 500 BTC transfer in April.

Riot reported selling 3,778 BTC in the first quarter while producing 1,473 BTC. The company reported net proceeds of about $289.5 million at an average sale price of $76,626 per coin. Riot’s bitcoin holdings were 15,680 BTC at the end of the first quarter, down from 19,223 a year earlier; 5,802 of those coins were restricted.

At the time of the 500 BTC transfer, bitcoin traded near $61,000, roughly $15,600 below Riot’s Q1 average sale price.

Earlier in the year, a wallet linked to Andreessen Horowitz moved 25,560 ETH off Binance. Large off-exchange transfers by institutional-linked wallets and exchange netflows are among the on-chain activity market participants are monitoring.

Netflow is the difference between tokens moved onto an exchange and tokens withdrawn; a positive netflow means more assets arrived on the exchange than left. Transfers to custodians place coins under third-party control but do not necessarily place them on an exchange. Market participants monitor withdrawals, exchange netflows and custodian deposits as data points when assessing available exchange supply.