As the name goes ‘Whales’, Bitcoin whales are big-time buyers of Bitcoin and they have a very large volume of Bitcoins. Their Bitcoin holdings are so large that they directly affect Bitcoin’s market price. Here’s a look at ‘Bitcoin Whales’ in more detail, if you still don’t get it.
This article covers all major questions related to Bitcoin whales. As you keep reading further on, you will be able to get a clear understanding of what a Bitcoin whale is, whether it is good or bad and whether you can become one.
Let us take a deep dive into Bitcoin whales together!
What Is A Bitcoin Whale?
The term Bitcoin whale refers to an individual or group of individuals who own very large amounts of Bitcoin. Any cryptocurrency can be used as a whale, not just Bitcoin. Crypto whales are generally known as holders of large volumes of cryptocurrencies.
The whales have such a large share of Bitcoin that they can impact the market price. The Bitcoin wallets that hold enormous amounts of Bitcoins are also called Bitcoin Whales. It is very subjective to determine who can become a Bitcoin whale. It all depends on the portion of Bitcoins that a particular individual or group of individuals have.
Investing a small amount of money does not make you a whale nowadays. Those who bought Bitcoins in 2010 indeed have a large volume of Bitcoins for a relatively small investment.
Now let’s examine how these whales affect the crypto market in general (if at all).
Are Bitcoin And Other Crypto Whales A Threat?
Common investors can be threatened by Bitcoin whales because they tend to manipulate prices for their gain. This becomes possible as the volume of Bitcoins they hold is so much that it gives the Bitcoin whales the upper hand. Bitcoin whales also create price volatility.
There are even effects on liquidity due to Bitcoin whales. This is because these whales keep a large amount of Bitcoins in their wallets, and as a result, there are fewer Bitcoins on the market. The crypto world is immediately affected when these wallets purchase or sell Bitcoins.
To be prepared with possible solutions, keep a close eye on the Bitcoin whales and track their activities.
How To Identify A Bitcoin Whale?
To be able to identify a Bitcoin whale, the best way is to start observing the large Bitcoin holder’s wallet addresses. There are crypto whale tracking websites available for this purpose. The Bitcoin whales can be identified using any of those.
It is also a good idea to follow the crypto news regularly if you want to identify Bitcoin whales. This is perhaps the easiest way to be able to identify a Bitcoin whale. In recent years, news has become a lot faster than some watch websites.
It is not common for Bitcoin or any other crypto whale to be made every day. The cryptocurrency world already knows many Bitcoin whales. These whales have been in the market for a long time now, and they do not need any identification. Tracking, however, is necessary.
What Is Referred To As Bitcoin Whale Watching?
As the term goes, whale watching is keeping a watch on the crypto whales or Bitcoin whales moves. The best way to do this is to watch the famous Bitcoin whales’ addresses, keeping a track of the unexpected changes in the crypto markets keeping an eye on exchanges.
Whenever unexpected fluctuations in the crypto market occur, whales are usually cited as the major cause. Bitcoin whales are known to be the reason for overnight price fluctuations. Any Bitcoin or crypto investor should therefore pay attention to crypto or Bitcoin whale watching.
Experts believe that crypto and Bitcoin whale watching can reduce the negative impact to a great level. Whale watching should be done by even the smallest investors to ensure their safe zone in the fluctuating crypto market.
How Do You Avoid Whales In Crypto?
Whales are rarely seen operating their wallets. But when they do, the results become unavoidable. They have their holdings in different wallets and this becomes the very reason that it becomes difficult to identify. And when Bitcoin whale identification becomes difficult, avoiding whales in the crypto market becomes even more difficult.
Making investment decisions should not be influenced by the size of order books to be able to avoid Bitcoin whale scams.
How Do Whales Make Money In Crypto Market?
Like other profitable institutions, crypto and Bitcoin whales also make money using the demand and supply principle. These whales use two methods to make money, Sell Wall and capitalizing on small investors in the crypto market.
The first method, Sell Wall is used when these whales are looking to lower a particular crypto’s price in the market. They do so by offering a large volume sell order with a price below the current market price.
This leads the other crypto owners to reduce their prices to match the market rates, similar to that how it is done in any other business. The whales take advantage of these lower prices in the market and start purchasing the crypto trying to create scarcity so that the prices begin to rise again. This makes the crypto or the Bitcoin whales even larger than before.
The second method of capitalizing on small investors is just the opposite of the first method. Instead of a sell order, whales create a buy order and offer prices above the normal prices in the crypto market. The aim here is to create a hike in the prices.
Seeing the price hike, many investors sell their cryptocurrencies to avoid a chance of missing out on a good money-making opportunity.
Crypto and Bitcoin whales work on the same principle of supply and demand that works for almost all businesses.
Can You Track Activities Of A Bitcoin Whale?
Any Bitcoin transactions done on a public blockchain can be tracked. A transaction on a crypto or Bitcoin wallet can be tracked using the wallet address.
There are API tools that help to track these transactions by scanning the blockchain. Using API tools real-time transactions can are tracked, and the whale watchers can see the buy-sell trends for that particular wallet address.
The developers are able to interact with blockchain using the API programming interface. This helps to such an extent that users do not require their own platform. Instead, they have access to the blockchain data using API. API tools help to connect with exchanges and provide access for trading and complete account manageability.
Which Are The Most Popular Bitcoin Whales?
The most popular Bitcoin Whales are:
Satoshi Nakamoto, the Bitcoin inventor, is believed to have above 1 million Bitcoins. Satoshi’s effect on the Bitcoin market would be just unimaginable with the ability to affect the Bitcoin price to a great level.
The Winklevoss Twins are believed to have Bitcoins worth over 70,000 Bitcoins along with other cryptocurrencies.
Tesla now owns above $2 billion worth of Bitcoins.
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase exchange is believed to have Bitcoins worth $6.5 billion.
Bulgaria, a country that has over 200,000 Bitcoins in its holdings.
Roger Ver is a well-known name among the early investors of Bitcoins. He is still believed to hold 300,000 Bitcoins.
Michael Saylor, the owner of the company MicroStrategy, is believed to have above 17,000 Bitcoins.
Barry Silbert, the founder of DCG, was believed to have over 48,000 Bitcoins.
Tim Draper is a venture capitalist, believed to have over 30,000 Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies.
Do Bitcoin Whales Affect The Price And Liquidity?
With the most popular Bitcoins whales that we just read above it is not hard to understand what these Bitcoin whales can do. Bitcoins whales hold a large volume of Bitcoins and that is the reason that these whales have the ability to affect the price and liquidity of Bitcoins to a great extent.
Bitcoin Whales Transaction Methods
In the same way as a small investor, Bitcoin whales also use different transaction methods.
Point 1: Transacting from one wallet to another wallet
Transactions between whales can take place by the wallet-to-wallet transaction. Transactions using this method generally do not tend to draw the attention of the public until they get announced by some whale watchers.
Point 2: Transacting from one exchange to another exchange
Whales transacting using this method to take the benefits of the small price fluctuations over different exchanges. As we now know that Bitcoin whales hold a large volume of Bitcoins and this small price difference also helps them to earn unimaginable profits.
Point 3: Transactions from a wallet to an exchange
When this method is used for transactions by a Bitcoin whale, it is presumed that the whale is going to sell Bitcoins using the exchange platform. This tends to create a negative impact on the price of Bitcoin.
Point 4: Transactions from an exchange to a wallet
This generally takes place when a Bitcoin whale is looking to store the Bitcoins that they own. This is done as wallets provide more security compared to an exchange. When such transactions are seen by a Bitcoin whale, it is assumed that whales are not finding the crypto market conditions to be optimal.
Point 5: Over the Counter transaction method
The OTC transaction method is the most private deal in the crypto market. Many centralized crypto exchanges provide this service. These transactions take place on preferred terms and conditions between the buyer and the seller. The volume of Bitcoins sold and purchased is huge in this transaction.
Which Crypto Has More Whales? Is It Bitcoin?
Bitcoin whales are believed to hold around 11% of the total Bitcoins that are there. And Larger than Bitcoin whales are Ethereum Whales. 39% of Ethereum is with the whales.
This makes Bitcoin even safer comparatively, as we now know the fact how whales can manipulate the crypto prices.
Can You Become A Bitcoin Whale?
To be able to reach the level of becoming a Bitcoin whale, you need to have a very large volume of Bitcoins in your wallet. Ellon Musk’s Tesla is the biggest example in this case. If you have the investment, it is possible to become a Bitcoin whale. But to become as big as the biggest Bitcoin whale, Satoshi Nakamoto seems just an unimaginable task. After all, Satoshi is believed to hold 1 million Bitcoins.
Conclusion
It is important to understand how Bitcoin whales work if you are a Bitcoin investor or plan to become one shortly. To understand Bitcoin whale transactions, you should become a whale watcher and become familiar with how, when, and why they transact.
When you understand Bitcoin whales in-depth, you will know how you can turn your Bitcoins into profits from the slightest of moves from the Bitcoin whales.