The term ‘Whale’ refers to a trader in financial markets with a significant amount of capital. Due to the large size of a whale trader’s position, these investors are in a position to influence markets to move in either direction when they make large buy or sell orders.
In the last 10 days, the Bitcoin network witnessed suspicious activity by Bitcoin whales as they moved around 15,000 BTC. The most significant difference between regular coins and the moved amount is the date they were last spent. Most of these coins belonged to investors who purchased BTC back in 2014.
Are The Whales Responsible For The Price Drop?
Technically speaking, a one-time injection of 15,000 BTC on the market could have caused a major plunge in the first cryptocurrency and issues with liquidity. However, despite the significance of the net amount, it could not possibly be the sole reason for the recent plunges in the asset.
CoinGlass reported that the cryptocurrency market saw more than $350 million in liquidations in the last 24 hours. While the amount may be seemingly huge and important, the gradual selling of 15,000 BTC on the market could not have led to such a large spike in liquidations.
As reported recently, whales moved most of their older funds to the Kraken exchange and probably tried to sell them ahead of the large price drop. However, most experts believe that the main reason behind the correction is linked to the upcoming interest rate hike and the continuous strengthening of the monetary policy.
Will BTC Survive The Crisis?
Bitcoin is consolidating at July’s level and has not yet dropped lower than that. It is clear that the current price level still corresponds to a strong psychological and historical support level, which may help prevent the cryptocurrency from sinking.
The majority of sentiment indicators returned to extreme fear. Bitcoin’s Relative Strength Index shows that the asset is already oversold. But, it can still drop even lower if new macroeconomic factors weigh heavily on the crypto market.
As of today, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at 18,796, down by almost 6% at the time of writing
How Can One Track Whale Activities?
The impact of the whales can be felt the most in the Altcoin market. In crypto assets with market capitalizations of less than $100 million, the market will move substantially if a ‘HODLer’ decides to sell a part of their portfolio, or if a large buyer comes on board.
It is important to be aware of the wealth distribution of smaller Altcoins before investing in them. Also, you must keep a close eye on order books to see whether there are any whales.
In order to identify whales, the first thing you can do is monitor the wallet addresses of the largest holders as well as exchange wallets to stay alert of any significant shifts in cryptocurrency.
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Source: https://coinpedia.org/bitcoin/bitcoin-whales-move-holdings-cause-immense-market-disruption-and-speculation/