What is a whale in Bitcoin?
In the bitcoiner world, there are whales, sharks, regular fish and shrimp.
“Mega whales” are accounts that have more than 10,000 BTC.
Whales are used to identify how far a general trend will go.
Due to their level of influence, the whales are constantly monitored by the community.
Satoshi Nakamoto’s account has 1,100,000 BTC. None of the coins have been moved.
A bitcoin (BTC) whale is a user or entity that holds large amounts of bitcoins in their addresses. Whales are meticulously monitored by the bitcoin community and other investors, as their actions can influence market liquidity and prices.
These users are called “whales” because they are much larger than the rest of the network users, who are just “fish” in the vast ocean of cryptocurrencies. It is worth noting that, within the community, other “maritime” terms such as shrimp, which represent the group that has less than 1 BTC, and crabs, which have less than 10 BTC. Likewise, there are the sharks which would be the entities closest to the whales.
Whales can be a problem for the ecosystem because they concentrate wealth and centralize it. Likewise, if the accounts remain stationary, then this reduces liquidity. Due to the strong influence that these accounts have, if any whale makes a transaction, it is publicly announced on the website and in X’s account. Whale Alert.
How many BTC do you need to be a whale?
The amount of BTC to consider an account a “whale” can depend on several factors. For example, as the price of bitcoin increases and more people acquire it, the threshold expands and adjusts.
It is important to note that, as the value of BTC increases over the years, this means that the number of bitcoins needed to be a whale is becoming smaller. This also means that over time, greater purchasing power is required to be able to enter the market and, therefore, affect it.
The whale that moved 700 BTC after a decade
In 2024, an event happened that caught the attention of bitcoin specialists and enthusiasts: after 10 years, a whale with 1,000 BTC in its wallet decided to move almost 700 BTC, which at the time was equivalent to $43.3 million. It is unknown who made the transfer and who received it, as well as the reasons for doing so. However, the market did not experience major alterations in the price of BTC.
Nevertheless, some platforms They distinguish between “mini whales” (which have between approximately 100 and 1000 BTC), “medium whales” (which have between 1000 and 10,000 BTC) and “mega whales”, which are those with holdings greater than 10,000 BTC. .
Who or who are the biggest bitcoin whales?
Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor of Bitcoin, holds 1.1 million BTC in wallets that were created in 2009. Since its demise, none of the coins have moved in years. Absolutely nothing is known about Satoshi’s true identity and whereabouts, we don’t even know if he is still alive. However, according to estimatesNakamoto would be the 22nd richest person in the world; Their holdings alone represent 5% of all bitcoins in existence.
A mining job
It is worth noting that, unlike many whales who only get BTC by buying it, Nakamoto earned that amount of money by mining bitcoin. Let us remember that Satoshi was the first miner in history, along with his partner Hal Finney. This means that Nakamoto is not the richest bitcoiner because he is the creator, but because he was very involved in the first years of mining, which was when the largest amount of BTC was issued, according to the halving schedule.
Now, the truth is that the identity of the majority of the “whale” owners is unknown. For example, the list on the Bitinfocharts website, which uses public records of the cryptocurrency network, shows us that, of the 100 richest Bitcoin wallets, there are around 80 wallets whose owners are unknown. Likewise, a BBC rough estimate claims that “mega whales” represent around 8% of all bitcoins in existence.
It is necessary to mention in this exclusive group MicroStrategy, a software company founded by Michael Saylor, a maximalist and faithful promoter of bitcoin. In 2020 persuaded his company to buy as much bitcoin as possible and now each acquisition is celebrated with a tweet which is causing a stir among cryptocurrency fans. MicroStrategy currently has 193,000 BTC accumulated.
Another company that accumulates a lot of BTC is Block One, a company that offers cryptographic software services. It is known that the company had 140,000 bitcoins, but it is likely that this amount has increased, since the company’s CEO, Brendan Blumer, stated in his count of that Block One had purchased more BTC, but the figure is unknown.
The Winklevoss Twins are still on the list, crypto-business brothers who in 2017 claimed to have 70,000 BTC and did not plan to sell any. This is followed by Theter, the cryptocurrency company, which, although it has its own stable currency (USDT), the company has purchased bitcoins in recent years. It currently has a reserve of 67,000 BTC.
Likewise, among the most popular bitcoin characters we have Tim Draper, the venture capital investor, who had 30,000 BTC in 2014; We also found the personal account of Michael Saylor, who has 18,000 BTC. On the other hand, the Tesla company is among the bitcoin whales because it has 9,700 BTC reserved.
How do whales affect the price of Bitcoin?
Whales can increase price volatilityespecially when they move a large amount of BTC in a single transaction. The lack of liquidity, along with the large size of transactions, can put downward pressure on the price of bitcoin.
Let’s take an example: if a whale decides to sell a good percentage of its bitcoins, this can increase the supply in the market and, consequently, decrease the price. Likewise, the opposite happens if a whale decides to buy large quantities.
On the other hand, an aspect that can also change the market trend is at what price these whales buy or sell their BTC. Let us remember that, in these cases, it is a large amount of money that enters or leaves, which sets a pattern that can generate volatility or even create new trends.
Whales as a price and trend indicator
When we talk about bitcoin, it is important not to see things from a polarized position; Whales, for example, are an excellent trend indicator. These entities usually buy when the price is reaching its minimum, just as they usually sell when a maximum value is approaching. People monitor these moves to see what the highs or lows of an uptrend or downtrend might be.
Can whales manipulate the Bitcoin market?
One of the aspects that worries bitcoiners and investors is that, in some cases, they may try to manipulate the market for short-term profits. This includes tactics such as “pump and dump,” which involves artificially inflating the price of a digital asset and then quickly selling it for profit.
There is also the tactic of “identity theft”, which consists of placing large sell or buy orders without the intention of executing them. This creates a false impression about demand and supply in the market. On the other hand, there is the front-runningwhich occurs when a whale exploits its market knowledge or access to trading data to act before other investors and traders.
In addition, The activities of whales can influence the confidence of those investors who are smaller. That is, if smaller accounts perceive that whales are selling, this could be interpreted as a sign that the market is going to suffer a considerable decline, which may prompt them to start selling.
However, a study carried out by blockchain data provider Glassnode showed that the risk of bitcoin wealth concentration is decreasing, as the overall supply of whales has been steadily declining since 2011, which in turn may diminish the influence of these entities.
This is due to several factors: first, whales are currently seeking a broader distribution and dividing their holdings into different accounts; In turn, there is an increase in demand from retail investors, which diversifies and expands the market.
Finally, there are calls OTC operationswhich consist of stock market operations that allow whales to buy and sell large amounts of cryptocurrencies, but privately, without public record and without altering the market price. These types of transactions, which do not appear in the order books, generate fewer effects on the value of BTC.
How do exchanges protect users from whale manipulations?
Centralized exchanges, like traditional banks, can set limits on the maximum order size a user can place in a given period. This makes it difficult for whales to move large amounts at once. Likewise, the number of orders that a user can submit in a specific time is also limited, which reduces the frequency of small operations.
The freedom that bitcoin gives
Despite the measures that exchanges may take, whales can still sell through p2p or even move their money to another account they own; This fact can already generate a lack of control in the market. However, let us remember that this is part of the values of bitcoin: each person can do with their money whatever they want and can. The good news is that if whales sell BTC, there is more liquidity in the market and there will always be people willing to buy it.
On the other hand, when a cryptocurrency is experiencing extreme volatility in a short period, there are breaker circuits that temporarily stop operations. This allows markets to stabilize and prevents whales from taking advantage of extreme fluctuations.
In addition, the most sophisticated exchanges, such as Binance or Coinbase, use algorithms that allow users’ trading patterns to be monitored, which helps detect possible manipulations. If the algorithms identify or recognize suspicious activity, action may be taken to freeze accounts or cancel orders.
It has been seen that the decisions of whales can generate a psychological impact on bitcoin users. Many people get carried away by FOMO syndrome. (“fear of letting it pass” in Spanish), however, what is recommended is: follow the whales closely, but do not get carried away by their movements. Some users quickly sell their holdings when they see whales selling, however, it is better to wait to see how trends form. We must study the market and seek good advice before making hasty decisions.