Cryptocurrency whales are usually those subjects or companies that own more than 1,000 Bitcoin or the equivalent in other cryptocurrencies.
The cryptocurrency market has several similarities with traditional markets, within the stock or stock markets we can find shareholders who have large amounts of stock or shareholdings.
Within the cryptocurrency market, there are the well-known cryptocurrency whales, usually, those subjects or companies that have more than 1,000 Bitcoin, or the equivalent in other cryptocurrencies. These can be a natural person, a company, or an entity; and they usually have a minimum of 10 million dollars or the equivalent in any cryptocurrency.
It is estimated that by 2022 crypto whales handle at least 46.5 percent of the total Bitcoin in the market, holding at least 21 million Bitcoins, and acquiring 140,000 Bitcoins per month.
Who are the Cryptocurrency Whales?
Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, is believed to own around 1 million BTC. The Winkelvoss twins, played by Armie Hammer on The Social Network, at one point owned 1% of all Bitcoin.
Exchanges are also known to have large Bitcoin wallets. Although these funds mostly belong to their users.
These are just some of the most well-known cryptocurrency whales, however, there are many more, which include MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor, Tim Draper, Barry Silbert, and previously Tesla.
One of the best ways to keep track of whales buying Bitcoin is through a Blockchain explorer, as well as setting up crypto whale alerts.
For example, there are designated Twitter accounts that specifically track the movement and trade of crypto whales. These people are known as crypto whale watchers, and they are incredibly important and play a role in adding transparency to the network.
Where Do Whales Operate?
Cryptocurrency whales generally trade on different cryptocurrency exchanges as well as through the use of different wallets.
Ledger is the most secure hardware wallet or also called cold wallet on the market, it is used to store a huge number of different cryptocurrencies and tokens. The main characteristic that it has is that only its owner has access to the stored information, which prevents possible hacking attempts.
Paxful is one of the most important platforms for buying and selling cryptocurrencies internationally.
The exchange was born in 2015, with a community of more than 9 million users, the growth of the platform in recent months has been exponential. It is characterized by providing several methods for users to operate in its P2P mode.
Phemex is one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges for futures and derivatives trading. The exchange was born in 2019 by different former Morgan Stanley executives who decided to transform the world of cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrency Whales and their Impact on the Market
The actions of the whales within the cryptocurrency market are usually of vital importance, since if they go out to sell or buy; therefore, they usually generate a direct impact within the cryptocurrency market.
Within traditional markets, when large shareholders often sell or buy in large quantities, the value of a company’s stock can rise or fall drastically, the same thing happens in the cryptocurrency market.
When Bitcoin reached close to 20,000 in the crypto winter, several whales rushed out to buy cryptocurrencies.
In short, the behavior of the whales is essential to understand what the evolution of the market will be.
By Audy Castaneda
