Virtual Protocol whale moves 7 mln tokens – What about price?

Key Takeaways

What is the primary factor driving VIRTUAL’s current price drop?

A whale transferred $7.958$ million tokens to sell, intensifying the current downside pressure on VIRTUAL.

Who is positioning to defend Virtual Protocol’s price against whale sell-offs?

Retail traders are accumulating on the spot market, positioning themselves as critical support for a potential recovery.

Since hitting $1.8 days ago, Virtual Protocol [VIRTUAL] has faced intense bearish pressure, dropping for two consecutive days. As of this writing, VIRTUAL was trading at $1.52, down 13.29% over the past 24 hours.

Amid this price dip, investors, especially whales, have turned bearish and exited the market.

VIRTUAL whale transfers 7.9 mln tokens

According to EmberCN, a whale transferred 7.958 million VIRTUAL tokens worth $13.45 million to Teneo. 

Historically, this whale has sent his holdings into exchanges in batches, and the same is expected with recent transfers. 

In total, the whale has fully transferred out 26.42 million tokens, realizing $40.83 million in profits. The whale purchased these tokens in December 2023 and has now moved all of his VIRTUAL holdings. 

Typically, when a whale moves during a market downturn, it signals rising sell-side pressure.

Such market behavior tends to accelerate the downtrend by increasing supply, thereby weakening buyer confidence and risking a sell-off by small investors. 

Whales reposition themselves

Interestingly, as the market dropped, VIRTUAL whales increased their activity in the Futures.

Futures Average Order Size data from CryptoQuant showed increased Big Whale Orders. 

Source: CryptoQuant

Usually, when whale orders dominate the Futures market, it suggests increased whale participation. 

During a downtrend, such behavior indicates that whales anticipate continued volatility or further price drops. As such, they favor Futures for their flexibility and leverage, to protect holdings from additional losses. 

Can retail hold ship?

Although whale activity risks further downside pressure, all is not lost for Virtual Protocol. This is because retail traders have positioned themselves as the critical support. 

Inasmuch, retail traders on the Spot market have deployed significant capital to accumulate the altcoin. 

In fact, Spot Taker CVD has remained positive and rising, signaling buyer dominance. As such, buyers have dominated mainly the spot market for the past week, despite the market correction. 

Source: CryptoQuant

This shows firm conviction among small-scale investors, who anticipate the correction will be short-lived. 

As a result of this accumulation, Spot Netflow has remained negative for five consecutive days. At press time, the altcoin’s Netflow was -$3.2 million, hitting MTD low, reflecting sustained outflows. 

Source: CoinGlass

Often, when netflow remains negative for a sustained period, it puts significant upward pressure on prices, which could lead to a rebound.

A slip or a bounce back?

According to AMBCrypto, Virtual Protocol has faced intense downside pressure as sellers, especially whales, exit the market.

At the same time, retail traders have jumped into the market to defend recent gains, leaving the altcoin at a decision point.

At press time, VIRTUAL was testing key support at $1.45, where the middle band of Bollinger levels sat. If retail manages to hold it, that would validate a bullish retest and strengthen the altcoin for another leg up.

Source: TradingView

In doing so, we could see a bounce back towards $1.75-$2. However, if sellers manage to breach$1.45 support, VIRTUAL will drop to $1.1.