Mystery whale withdraws $290 million from Aave and Sky every midnight, tripling borrowing rates

A crypto whale has withdrawn approximately $290 million in USDC from Aave and Sky every midnight UTC for 394 consecutive nights since late September 2025, temporarily draining liquidity. The withdrawals pushed Aave's utilization to 100% on six occasions and nearly tripled median annualized borrowing rates from 4.5% to 13.8%, restricting withdrawals for other depositors. The funds typically returned about 30 minutes later, but the recurring transfers have consistently squeezed Aave's USDC lending pool.