What are crypto whales and why the matter

06 March 17:07

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## TL; DR
Crypto whales are individuals and institutions that own large quantities of cryptocurrencies. 
The crypto whales can become dangerous if their activities negatively affect the price of cryptocurrencies.

Examples of the biggest crypto whales are Brian Armstrong, Michael Saylor, Changpeng Zhao, Satoshi Nakamoto, Vitalik Buterin and Elon Musk.

There are several web platforms that publicize crypto whale lists and activities.

## Introduction
Investors in the crypto sector should carry out thorough research because there are many factors that determine the success of their investments. Unlike in the traditional sector, market sentiments play a major role on how the crypto market behaves. One factor that affects the crypto market sentiment is the activities of whales. In this post, we shall explore [how crypto whales influence](https://www.gate.io/blog_detail/1340/What-are-crypto-whales-and-how-do-you-track-them "how crypto whales influence") the market price performance.  Let’s start by understanding what a crypto whale is.

## What is a crypto whale?
A cryptocurrency whale is an individual or institution that holds a large amount of a token or coin to the extent that he/she can influence its price. Apart from institutions that hold huge quantities of tokens, most crypto whales are business owners who have invested in cryptocurrencies. Now, we also have countries that are crypto whales such as Bulgaria and El Salvador that hold large amounts of <a href="/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a> (BTC).

![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/167809334010511678092922_.pic.jpg)
Crypto whales- Worldcoin

## Are crypto whales dangerous?
It is a common practice for crypto investors and communities to watch the behavior of cryptocurrency whales as their activities in the market can influence the prices of tokens and coins.

What determines whether crypto whales are dangerous or not is how they use their cryptocurrencies. Basically, whales can become dangerous if they choose to manipulate the market price of a cryptocurrency. However, if they invest responsibly they are beneficial to the market.

### Whales can reduce the liquidity of a cryptocurrency
If the [whales hold large amounts of cryptocurrencies](https://www.gate.io/blog_detail/451/BTC-Whale-Holders--Is-it-possible-to-know-who-they-are- "whales hold large amounts of cryptocurrencies") in their wallets without moving them it can lead to low liquidity in the market. When there are few coins on the market, other investors can no longer invest in them which keeps the liquidity low. The value of a cryptocurrency can only rise if the investors trade it which attracts more liquidity in the asset.

### Whales can increase the price volatility of a cryptocurrency
If the biggest whale of crypto sells a large amount of a cryptocurrency that can cause price volatility. In fact, this results in other market participants to respond by selling their tokens as they consider the activity of the whale as crypto dumping. This leads to a significant fall in the price of the cryptocurrency.

Most retail investors watch the exchange inflow to check if there is a change in its value. If the average quantity of a cryptocurrency being deposited into exchanges rises above 2.0 it means that whales are selling the coin or token. This will push other investors to sell their holdings which create selling pressure.

With a blockchain that uses the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, if there are many big market whales it means that the voting power is concentrated in a few blockchain users. As such, they are able to influence the DAO’s decision making process. However, it also shows that the network is secure since there is a large amount of staked cryptocurrency.

The crypto whales can also manipulate the price of the cryptocurrency so that they achieve certain goals. For Example, the whales can place large sell orders at low prices which push the value of a cryptocurrency down. This creates fear and panic in the market leading to large sale offs and further decline in the asset’s price.

When the value reaches their desired level, they revoke their large sale orders. At the same time, they purchase the cryptocurrency in huge amounts. The effects of this price manipulation are more pronounced in cryptocurrencies that have small market capitalizations.

The cryptocurrency [whales can also manipulate the market](https://www.gate.io/bitwiki/detail/122/whale "whales can also manipulate the market") to increase the price of the cryptocurrency so that they sell their holdings at higher prices and fetch more money. In this case, they place sell orders at high prices which entice other bidders to increase their bids. As soon as the price of the cryptocurrency reaches their target level, they sell their holdings and make a lot of money.

## What is whale watching?
We have identified some negative and positive effects of whale activities in the crypto market. Therefore, to deal with the negative effects of the activities of whales and benefit from crypto trading, retail investors should track what whales do on the market through whale tracking.

Whale crypto watching is the practice of tracking the activities of whales on the market. This helps the average users to predict what the whales may do in the near future. Understanding the behaviour of whales enables the retail investors to avoid potential losses that may occur if there is market manipulation.

![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/167809346610521678092932_.pic.jpg)
Price manipulation - Binance

There is no doubt that the activities of crypto whales have a significant effect on the prices of cryptocurrencies. Constantly watching the activities of the whales helps average investors to prepare for any potential price fluctuations.

The retail investors can tell when to enter or exit trading positions by following the activities of whales. For Example, someone may go long when a popular whale does so. When he/she exits his/her trade, you can also short trade.

There are many websites that publish the activities of whales on a daily and even hourly basis. For Example, Whale Alert.io, Dune Analytics, Nansen, DeBank, WhaleMap and UniMaps are popular crypto whale trackers which investors can use.

## Well known crypto whales
The truth is that there are thousands of crypto whales who own different cryptocurrencies. Some of the popular whales are Brian Armstrong, Chris Larsen, Michael Saylor, Changpeng Zhao, The Winklevoss Twins, Barry Silbert, Jed McCaleb and Tim Draper. Of course, we also have Satoshi Nakamoto, Vitalik Buterin and Elon Musk. Let’s discuss a few of these.

Satoshi Nakamoto: The creator of <a href="/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a>, Satoshi Nakamoto, is [one of the biggest bitcoin whales](https://www.gate.io/learn/articles/who-is-satoshi-nakamoto/286 "one of the biggest bitcoin whales") with a holding of over one million BTC. However, the identity of Nakamoto is not known and no one knows if Nakamoto is a man, a woman or a group of people.

Vitalik Buterin: Buterin, the [co-founder of Ethereum](https://www.gate.io/blog_detail/1440/Vitalik-Buterin--centralized-stablecoin-may-become-an-essential-determinant-of-the-future-hard-fork "co-founder of Ethereum"), is one of the crypto whales in the market, holding a large quantity of ETH. However, the exact amount is not known.

![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/167809354110531678092942_.pic.jpg)
Vitalik Buterin - Coingape

Brian Armstrong: The CEO of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong holds many cryptocurrencies. He founded Coinbase in 2012 and became a billionaire five years later in 2018. Armstrong currently owns about 20% stake in Coinbase.

Changpeng Zhao: Zhao is the founder of Binance which he launched in 2017. He purchased much <a href="/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a> in 2014, some of which he still holds.

Elon Musk: The Founder and owner of Tesla, Elon musk is one of the <a href="/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a> whales. At one time, he owned 33,000 BTC before he sold some of them. Apart from BTC, he holds other cryptocurrencies that include <a href="/price/dogecoin-doge" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Dogecoin</a>.

Michael Saylor: Michael Saylor, the CEO of MicroStrategy, holds much <a href="/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a>. Through MicroStrategy, he holds over 130,000 BTC.

## Conclusion
Crypto whales are individuals or institutions that hold large amounts of cryptocurrencies. It is important to track the activities of whales in order to predict their possible future plans and to identify trade entry and exit points. Brian Armstrong, Chris Larsen, Michael Saylor, Changpeng Zhao, The Winklevoss Twins, Barry Silbert, Jed McCaleb and Tim Draper are Examples of crypto whales.

## FAQs about crypto whales
### Which crypto whales are buying?
Crypto whales are individuals and institutions that hold large quantities of cryptocurrency.  It is also important to note that there are countries that are crypto whales [such as El Salvador](https://www.gate.io/blog_detail/1912/the-road-to-bitcoin-in-el-salvador "such as El Salvador") and Bulgaria. Currently, El Salvador and Elon Musk are buying cryptocurrencies on a monthly basis. We can get the list of the whales that are purchasing cryptocurrencies from crypto whale trackers.

### Who are the biggest whales in <a href="/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a>?
<a href="/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a> is the number one cryptocurrency which whales buy regularly. The top <a href="/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin crypto</a> whales include Satoshi Nakamoto, Elon Musk, Brian Armstrong, Chris Larsen, Michael Saylor, Changpeng Zhao, The Winklevoss Twins, Barry Silbert, Jed McCaleb and Tim Draper. Some of these individuals such as Satoshi Nakamoto have been holding <a href="/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a> for a long time.

### Which crypto has the most whales?
<a href="/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a> and ETH are the top cryptocurrencies which whales hold at the moment. The other cryptocurrencies which whales are buying include <a href="/price/cardano-ada" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Cardano</a>, <a href="/price/shiba-inu-shib" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Shiba Inu</a>, [ChainLink](https://www.gate.io/price/chainlink-link "ChainLink"), <a href="/price/polygon-matic" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Polygon</a> (Matic), SAND and <a href="/price/decentraland-mana" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Decentraland</a>. Whales buy the cryptocurrencies when their prices are low and hold them, anticipating their values to rise.

### Are whales good in cryptocurrency?
The actions that whales take determine whether they are good or bad. For instance, when whales constantly buy a cryptocurrency over a long period it increases its liquidity and growth. However, there are times when whales also manipulate the price of the cryptocurrencies leading to sharp decreases in their prices.

### How much is a crypto whale?
Crypto whales hold large amounts of cryptocurrencies. For Example a <a href="/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a> whale should hold at least 1 000 BTC while an ETH whale should hold 10, 000 or more ETH. Therefore what defines a whale is the quantity of a cryptocurrency he/she holds and its current price.

<div class="blog-details-info">
<div>Author:** Mashell C.**, Gate.io Researcher
<div class="info-tips">\*This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
<div>\*Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.
</div>

ETH/USDT -0.68%

TL_ DR

Introduction

What is a crypto whale?

Are crypto whales dangerous?

What is whale watching?

Well known crypto whales

Conclusion

FAQs about crypto whales

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