Shiba Inu prices may continue to face heavy selling pressure in the coming weeks as bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Voyager Digital continues to transfer large amounts of cryptocurrencies to Coinbase, likely in cash. Voyager currently has $631 million worth of crypto assets, with SHIB being the third highest value.
A few hours ago, the blockchain intelligence company PeckShield shared the scoop that Voyager has re-sent cryptocurrencies to Coinbase to boost liquidity. PeckShield Alert reported via Twitter that Voyager transferred 300 trillion SHIB worth $3.7 million, as well as 4,000 ETH worth $6.6 million and 5 million VGX worth $2 million to Coinbase.
In particular, the address that made the transfer to Coinbase received 68 trillion Shiba Inu, approximately $820,000, from the inactive 0x31FC address shortly before the transfer. This address received 68 trillion SHIB two years ago at $528 and has been holding it ever since.
#PeckShieldAlert Voyager has transferred 4k $ETH ($6.6M), 300B $SHIB ($3.7M) & 5M $VGX ($2M) for Coinbase
Before moving, Voyager received 68B $SHIB (~820k) from dormant address 0x31FC. Address has been received 68B $SHIB 2 years ago (~$528 at transfer) pic.twitter.com/iV7vFrykxT— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) March 2, 2023
PeckShield also revealed that Voyager-labeled addresses received around $50 million USDC from Coinbase in the last few hours. As Bitcoinist reported, this seems to confirm and extend the sell-off of Voyager assets.
Just a few days ago, blockchain tracking company Arkham and Lookonchain reported that Voyager received $100 million USDC from Coinbase last week. In addition, Voyager has been sending assets to Coinbase almost every day since February 14th.
As for Shiba Inu, Voyager has transferred 2.24 trillion SHIB, which is equivalent to about $28 million, to Coinbase since February 14. SHIB Voyager holdings are topped only by Ethereum with 172,223 ETH ($276 million) and 186 million USDC.
Shiba Inu Price Dump in?
Shiba Inu prices have been falling since early February and fears of a big sell-off by Voyager seem to be weighing heavily on sentiment today. If Voyager were to sell all of the Shiba Inu coins, valued at around $77.3 million, that would be huge selling pressure that could drive prices down.
The development also comes at a time when Shiba Inu is about to launch the beta version of the Shibarium layer 2 network. Thus, on the one hand, there is the potential for a strong move north, and on the other hand, there is a risk of dumping Voyager down south.
However, it is not clear whether there will be any sale. Voyager filed for bankruptcy in July 2022 after Three Arrows Capital, its previous backer, defaulted on a $650 million loan. Currently, BinanceUS is fighting for the right to acquire the company.
Had Voyager held onto Shiba Inu until Binance took over the company and received the regulatory green light, the sale could have been avoided. Recently, it was revealed that Voyager account holders agreed with a majority vote to take over BinanceUS.
The crypto exchange submitted an offer of $1.022 billion in December 2022. However, there are regulatory headwinds for the acquisition. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and local authorities in the state of Texas raised concerns.
At press time, SHIB was trading at $0.00001194, struggling to hold key support at $0.000012 on the 1-day chart.
Option image from Currency.com, Chart from TradingView.com