Deribit wallet labels show $146M USDC move was internal, not to 'unknown' address

A widely circulated Whale Alert post that flagged a $146.18 million USDC transfer from Deribit to an “unknown wallet” appears to have mischaracterized the transaction. Deribit’s own published wallet records indicate the receiving address is also part of the cryptocurrency exchange’s wallet set, suggesting the movement was likely internal rather than an outflow to an outside party.

Whale Alert posted the alert at 03:18:35 UTC on Monday, reporting that 146,180,159 USDC, worth about $146.2 million, had moved on Ethereum. The Telegram post said: “146,180,159 $USDC (146,207,275 USD) transferred from #Deribit to unknown wallet.” The transaction hash is 0x2268c0bfa7496e32132b3e9bdb64c83032d3b9a7e20e5de8a50ee05199468874.

Public records point to a different reading of the transfer. The sending address, 0x77021d475E36b3ab1921a0e3A8380f069d3263de, is publicly labeled as a Deribit wallet and appears on Deribit’s published proof-of-reserves and wallet list. The receiving address, 0x4e67722883AD992182e83b79Bf06A93972963caC, also appears on Deribit’s published wallet list, which was updated Jan. 26, 2026. Public blockchain explorer snapshots likewise label the destination address as linked to Deribit.

That distinction matters because large stablecoin transfers tied to exchanges often draw market attention as possible signs that liquidity is moving on or off a trading venue. But a transfer between an exchange’s own wallets is operationally different from a withdrawal to an outside customer, trading firm or other counterparty. Based on Deribit’s published wallet records, the available evidence indicates this transaction appears to have been a movement between two Deribit-controlled Ethereum addresses.

Deribit is a major cryptocurrency derivatives exchange that publishes a proof-of-reserves page and wallet list as a transparency measure. On that page, the company says, “Deribit holds a 1:1 reserve of all customer assets and the company is happy to provide full transparency into our holdings.” USDC is a dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Circle and is widely used across crypto markets for trading and settlement. Based on public wallet labels, the $146.18 million transfer appears to have been internal.