Crypto exchange Kraken received close to $34 million worth of USDT (Tether) from two anonymous Ethereum addresses on October 11, 2023.
The two addresses sent a combined 33.9 million USDT to Kraken in back-to-back transactions. The coordinated activity between the two wallets, which display remarkably similar transaction patterns and balances, has sparked speculation that they share a common owner.
What makes this sudden influx even more intriguing is the source of the funds. The USDT was obtained through a swap involving USDC, a prominent stablecoin issued by Circle. The fact that these anonymously owned addresses swapped such a large amount of USDC for USDT has left crypto experts scratching their heads.
The unexpected transfer of nearly $34 million worth of USDT has ignited debate within crypto circles about the potential motives and implications. Some theorize the wallets belong to a wealthy individual or institution, while others believe it could signal an impending move in Tether’s price.
“This kind of coordinated, large-scale transfer of stablecoins is extremely uncommon,” said Lee Reiners, professor of fintech and cryptocurrency at Duke University. “It raises a lot of questions, and I expect we’ll see significant speculation in the coming days about who owns these addresses and why they made this surprising move.”
For now, the source and ownership of the two addresses remain a mystery. Kraken has not issued any public statement on the transfer. But one thing is clear – this unusual USDT transaction has grabbed the attention of the crypto world.
