Exchange Withdrawals Hit ATHs As Bitcoin Investors Opted Self Custody

Following the collapse of the world's second-largest crypto exchange 

last week, bitcoin investors have been rapidly shifting their holdings to self-custody solutions.

According to an analytics firm, on-chain exchange flow data shows an increase in withdrawals to self-custody wallets.

In a November 13 post on Twitter, an analytics firm reported that Bitcoin exchange outflows had reached near-historic levels of 106,000 BTC per month.

The firm went on to say that this has only happened three times before: in April 2022, November 2020, and June/July 2022. It also stated that the number of BTC wallets receiving the asset from exchange addresses increased to roughly 90,000 on November 9.

Exchange outflows are typically a bullish indicator that BTC is being stored for the long run. However, in this scenario, it looks to be the outcome of waning trust in centralized cryptocurrency exchanges.

The analytics firm noted that withdrawals had resulted in favourable balance shifts across all wallet cohorts, from shrimp to whales, before adding:

“The failure of FTX has resulted in a significant shift in Bitcoin holder behaviour across all cohorts.”

Since the FTX debacle began on November 6, balance transfers have surged across all BTC wallet sizes, with "shrimps" with less than one coin increasing by 33,700 BTC. Whale wallets with more than 1k coins have increased by 3,600 BTC, indicating that the self-custodian push is spreading.

Leaders in the industry are increasingly pushing for self-custody options as the phrase "not your keys, not your coins" has more significance than ever.

On November 13, Ethereum educator Anthony Sassano stated that cryptocurrency owners should not store their holdings on centralized exchanges unless they are actively trading large amounts.

In an interview, MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor told local media outlets that self-custody prohibits centralized third parties from misusing their position.

The analytics firm also reported that stablecoins, many of which were destabilized last week, have been flooding markets at an accelerated rate in the recent week.

On November 10, over $1 billion in stablecoins landed on centralized exchanges. It said that the total stablecoin reserve across all exchanges it monitors has reached a new all-time high of $41.2 billion.

Read also: US and Indian Finance Ministers Discuss Crypto Regulation