#VIRTUALWhale

What Is a Crypto Whale and How Do They Affect Crypto Markets?

**A crypto whale is an entity that holds large amounts of cryptocurrency. These whales own enough cryptocurrency to influence liquidity and prices, and their actions are closely watched.

Key Takeaways

**A crypto whale is a user that holds a significant amount of cryptocurrency.

**The community and investors watch crypto whales because they can significantly influence price movements.

**Whales can also create price volatility increases.

**Many whale accounts lie dormant for long periods and cause huge stirs in the crypto community when they become active.

Understanding Crypto Whales:

**Large cryptocurrency holders are called whales because their accounts are much larger than the smaller fish (accounts) in the cryptocurrency ocean. Four bitcoin wallets owned 3.56% of all the bitcoin in circulation in August 2024 according to BitInfoCharts. The top 113 wallets held more than 15.4% of all bitcoin. There are thousands of accounts that hold less than 10,000 BTC that can be considered whales.

These large accounts are closely monitored by the crypto community and investors. It's publicly announced on the Whale Alert website and its X (formerly Twitter) account if any whales make transactions.

A Whale's Effect on Liquidity:

**Whales can be a problem for cryptocurrency because they're high-profile wallets that concentrate wealth, particularly if it sits unmoved in an account. This lowers a specific cryptocurrency's liquidity when coins sit in an account rather than being used because there are fewer coins available.

Many of the Bitcoin top whale addresses have been identified by the community—there are exchange cold wallets or reserve accounts, accounts that hold bitcoins recovered from thefts in the top accounts, and some unidentified. The top 113 accounts ( more than 10,000 Bitcoin) held more than 15% (about 3 million BTC) of the circulating bitcoin, with some going months to years without transferring any out.