245,000,000 Stellar (XLM) in 5 Minutes, What's Happening?

An unusual transaction was tied to Stellar (XLM), a protocol named XRP’s biggest rival. Three transactions that crypto analytics platform Whale Alert spotted show signs that XLM whales are back in action. The dynamics of these whale actions became more suspicious as they occurred within five minutes of one another.

Stellar whales in action: XLM in trouble?

Per the update from Whale Alert, the first and smallest transaction involved the movement of 75,000,000 XLM, valued at $17,570,556, from one anonymous wallet to the other

The second transaction involved the movement of 80,000,000 XLM, which was valued at $18,797,215 at the time it was initiated. Ultimately, the biggest transaction involved the transfer of 90,000,000 XLM, valued at over $21 million, to dead wallets

While whale transactions like these are not uncommon in the broader digital currency ecosystem, they set XLM apart in the market. The purpose of these transactions remains unknown; however, some possible scenarios come to mind.

While likely connected, the whales may be moving the assets to sell. They could also be pushing the funds into custodial wallets, either of which can impact the price outlook.

XLM price may react badly

These transfers come at a time when the market is experiencing consolidation. At press time, Stellar’s price changed hands for $0.2354, down by 2.2% in 24 hours. This comes after XLM reversed its recent sell-off trend.

Undefined transfers may increase the sentiment around sell-off fears on the Stellar market, a move that is unhealthy for the coin

Similar whale transactions have been recorded in the past for other altcoins. While the bump in actual circulating supply is low, the sentiment can fuel a chain reaction on the retail market.

As of press time, most XLM traders are more focused on other key growth fundamentals around Stellar. These include, but are not limited to, the bullish XLM futures outlook.