Dormant Uniswap Whales Awaken: $61M in $UNI Moved to Coinbase Prime After 3.5 Years

Three wallets linked to Uniswap that have been inactive for a long time have, in an unexpected turn of events, moved 10.21 million $UNI tokens to Coinbase Prime. The movement is worth about $60.99 million and has happened after more than three years of dormancy. Crypto analysts and traders are now speculating about the motive behind the transfer that involves such large amounts of money and what it might mean for the future of Uniswap’s token economy. The biggest transfer occurred from a wallet that got 9 million $UNI tokens during Uniswap’s token launch in September 2020. Then, $UNI was trading at just $3.44, which meant that this particular airdrop was valued at around $31 million. But fast forward to April 2025, and the value of those same tokens has nearly doubled. That’s a return on investment that a holder can really get behind. Three wallets linked to @Uniswap just deposited 10.21M $UNI ($60.99M) to #CoinbasePrime after 3.5+ years of dormancy. The largest deposit came from a wallet that received 9M $UNI from Uniswap in September 2020, when $UNI was $3.44 (valued at ~$31M). Follow @spotonchain and set… pic.twitter.com/nzobjAldyW — Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) April 24, 2025 From Dormancy to Movement: Timing and Impact These deposits came from wallets that had sat unused for more than 1,270 days. Their sudden reactivation was intriguing. The sum was transferred to what has to be construed as a top-tier, access-controlled conversion space—Coinbase Prime. You don’t move this kind of money halfway unless you intend to do something big, like shift your overall crypto portfolio or cash out. At press time, none of the tokens had been sold, but the deposits were well-timed. Uniswap, arguably the most prominent decentralized exchange (DEX) on Ethereum, has enjoyed a recent surge in user activity. That’s reflected in a few on-chain metrics, too. So, what’s this recent wallet activity about? It’s possible these early depositors are becoming a bit more liquidity-friendly ahead of what they perceive as a likely uptick in their Layer 1 exchange’s user activity. It’s also possible these depositors are just unilaterally shoring up their near-term finances ahead of some market turbulence. Uniswap’s Growing Ecosystem: Protocol and L2 Expansion Why does this movement catch the eye? Because of the context in which it is occurring. Uniswap isn’t coasting on its legacy reputation; it is thriving. As one of the foundational dApps on the Ethereum mainnet, Uniswap has consistently pushed the boundaries of decentralized finance (DeFi). Now, with the advent of Unichain, its custom Layer 2 (L2) network, both the original protocol and its scaling solutions are experiencing explosive growth. Uniswap’s DEX operations on both Ethereum and Unichain are moving sharply and steeply upward. They are not merely moving in the upward direction; they are moving in the up-up direction. Moreover, the upward movement is truly powerful and makes a strong statement: Uniswap is showing clearly the markers of true user adoption and developer interest. As of April 2025, Uniswap has, in fact, processed a staggering $2.94 trillion in swap volume since its inception. To place that in a frame of reference, that number is higher than the GDP of an entire G7 nation—Canada—whose annual economic output currently hovers around $2.2 trillion. This milestone spotlights the scale of DeFi’s disruption of traditional finance, and it highlights Uniswap’s pivotal role as a leader in that space. Uniswap Protocol has now processed $2.94T in swap volume That’s more than the GDP of Canada pic.twitter.com/TE32LSeO2U — Uniswap Labs (@Uniswap) April 23, 2025 What This Could Mean for $UNI The revival of hibernating whale wallets similarly sends shockwaves through the cryptocurrencies community, albeit in slow motion. Uniswap’s governance token, the $UNI token, may face some short-term price fluctuations as the market judges the likelihood of a sell-off. Even so, this emergence of whale wallets signals renewed interest in Uniswap’s long-term value proposition—no small thing in a market so often dominated by sentiment. The $UNI community is not only strongly supportive of decentralized principles but also clearly watches over the protocol as a subset of the community. The conversion of these whale addresses to governance or governance-alike active participation is tantamount to a potential serious shift in the Uniswap protocol’s direction, for good or ill. Final Thoughts In a crypto market that frequently gives the impression of being governed by short-term speculation and trend-chasing, the movement of long-dormant funds can feel like a tectonic shift. Sending $61 million in $UNI tokens to Coinbase Prime after 3.5 years of silence reminds us that all kinds of things may get unearthed in a blockchain’s past—like, say, a long-dormant fund. It is yet to be seen whether this shift is the start of a new strategy, a cash-out, or just a reallocation of assets. But one thing is certain: Uniswap, both the protocol and the token, remains a powerful player in the decentralized finance space. Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services. Follow us on Twitter @nulltxnews to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, Distributed Computing, and Metaverse news !

Source: NullTx