Tron (TRX) founder Justin Sun has reportedly transferred millions of dollars worth of USDT, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, to Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, amid a decline in the crypto market.
According to on-chain data provider Lookonchain, an address suspected to be Tron founder Justin Sun deposited 50 million USDT into Binance in recent hours.
Lookonchain noted that the said address has withdrawn 439.5 million USDT in the past month and deposited part of it — 371 million USDT — on the Binance crypto exchange.
The reason for the move remains unknown, leaving room for speculations, such as that maybe the crypto founder was selling his USDT in preparation for buying the dip and accumulating more crypto assets at lower prices.
Notably, the timing of Sun's transfers coincides with a drop in the crypto market, which saw the total market capitalization drop by 1.05% to stand at $1.73 trillion at press time. BTC was trading down 1.63% in the last 24 hours to $44,794.
A handful of crypto assets are likewise suffering losses on a 24-hour basis. Solana (SOL) was down 9%, registering the most losses among the top 10; Avalanche followed closely with a 6% daily loss.
The sell-off was perhaps buoyed by investors locking in profits at 2024's start, as Bitcoin rallied ahead of an expected spot-based ETF approval in the U.S.
Bitcoin has jumped nearly 6% in the first three days of January, defying a bleak start to the year in global markets. On Jan. 2, the largest digital asset reached a high of $45,925, spurred by optimism that the United States will soon approve the country's first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
After a slump in U.S. stocks on Tuesday, the first trading day of 2024 in traditional markets, U.S. equity futures struggled to gain traction. In yet another hint of market trepidation, the dollar index rose.