SUMMARY

• Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin transferred 600 ETH (worth approximately $1 million) to Coinbase.
• The move comes in the wake of a broader market downturn that led to a 10% drop in the value of ether.
• The motivation behind Buterin's transfer is uncertain, but traders and investors generally associate huge exchange deposits with selling intentions.

Ethereum's co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, on Monday, initiated a transfer of significant value as he deposited 600 ether (ETH), worth approximately $1 million onto crypto exchange Coinbase, per data from block explorer and analytics platform, etherscan. The move was also reported by blockchain security platform PeckShield. 

This development comes in the wake of a broader market downturn that led to a 10% drop in the value of ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, over the past week. The decline ultimately resulted in a staggering $1 billion worth of liquidations for traders. 

The motivation behind Buterin's transfer of ether to Coinbase remains currently uncertain. However, traders and investors generally associate huge exchange deposits to centralized exchanges with selling intentions. 

Notably, Buterin had made a repayment of 250,000 RAI and withdrew around $1.6 million worth of ether just the day before, as reported by the on-chain tracking platform Lookonchain. RAI, a non-pegged stablecoin backed by ETH, was involved in the transaction.

As of publication time, Ethereum is trading at $1,672, having remained relatively quiet in the past 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.