Every night, $290 million disappears and comes back: The mystery of a crypto whale

A single large crypto wallet has been borrowing and repaying roughly $290 million in USDC on Aave every night, pushing the protocol's stablecoin lending rate to nearly 14% at the same time each day before the funds return. The pattern suggests a recurring, likely automated strategy rather than organic demand, and it matters because depositors trying to withdraw during the rate spike may find liquidity unavailable. Aave's USDC market is the focal point, with the wallet's borrow-repay cycle driving utilization to extremes. Traders and depositors should watch whether the whale's identity or motive emerges, and whether the repeated rate spikes prompt changes to how lenders manage withdrawals or how Aave's rate model handles large cyclical flows.