What Are Crypto Whales?

Have you ever heard of whales in the crypto industry? Spoiler: they have nothing to do with aquatic mammals. In today's article, we will tell you who crypto whales are and why they are so important to the industry.

What Are Whales In Crypto?

Crypto whale is a term that is used to refer to individuals or organizations that own significant crypto amounts. These entities own such a large amount of cryptocurrencies that it allows them to influence the prices of individual assets and the entire crypto market.

There is no clear criterion for defining a "whale"; however, it is generally accepted that an entity can be considered a crypto whale when it has a huge amount of a certain cryptocurrency in circulation. For example, if a person or organization possesses at least 1000 BTC (about $11.5 million) or 10,000 ETH (about $25 million), it is considered a crypto whale.

How Do Crypto Whales Affect Cryptocurrency Prices?

Crypto whales can influence the market due to their huge buy or sell orders. For example, if a whale sells a large portion of a certain asset, it will take all the buy orders for that cryptocurrency, thereby significantly reducing the price of that cryptocurrency. This can also happen in the opposite direction. If a whale buys a large portion of a certain asset, it takes all the sell orders for that cryptocurrency, thereby creating a deficit and significantly raising the price of that asset.

In addition, crypto whales can affect the liquidity of cryptocurrencies. If a large volume of a certain currency is stored by whales and they do not trade, it becomes less in circulation and liquidity decreases. This situation is typical when the author (creator) of a cryptocurrency holds a large portion of the cryptocurrency and does not release it to the market. Accordingly, the asset is harder to buy or sell without a significant change in price. This circumstance can make it difficult for other traders to buy or sell cryptocurrency, which will negatively affect the demand for the asset.

Biggest Crypto Whales

You can find out who owns the largest number of cryptocurrencies. We have compiled a list of the biggest crypto owners. Take a look at it:

1. Satoshi Nakamoto—1 million BTC

The largest BTC amount is owned by a Bitcoin creator named Satoshi Nakamoto. His wallet has been dormant since 2009 but remains the largest Bitcoin vault to this day. It's said that Satoshi Nakamoto's wallet holds around 1 million Bitcoins, with a current market value of approximately $115 billion.

2. Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy—597,000 BTC

MicroStrategy is among the main corporate BTC holders and has accumulated over 597,000 BTC since 2020, with a current market value of approximately $67.5 billion.

3. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss—70,000 BTC

In 2011, the Winklevoss Twins purchased $11 million worth of Bitcoins, which is valued at approximately 70,000 BTC. Today, that amount is worth about $7.9 billion.

4. Changpeng Zhao (CZ)—$15 Billion Dollars

Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, is the Binance founder and CEO, one of the world's largest crypto exchanges. CZ's fortune is estimated at $15 billion dollars, a significant portion of which he holds in various crypto assets. His statements and actions often have an immediate and noticeable impact on the market.

5. Tim Draper—30,000 BTC

Tim Draper is a well-known crypto investor who bought 30,000 BTC (current market value of approximately $3.4 billion) in an auction held by the U.S. Marshals Service in 2014. Today, the investor has openly supported DeFi and the crypto space.

6. Block.one (EOS)—140 million EOS

Block.one is the company behind the EOS blockchain and owns a huge amount of its own tokens. Although the EOS value has fluctuated, Block.one's assets still represent one of the largest concentrations of blockchain-based assets in the world. As of today, the market cap of 140 million EOS is approximately $70.8 million.

7. Institutional investors

A significant portion of crypto whales today consists of institutional players—hedge funds, venture capital firms, and asset management companies. Prominent examples include BlackRock, Fidelity, and ARK Invest.

In 2025, institutional investors’ influence on cryptocurrencies becomes a key factor determining market trends. From the launch of Bitcoin ETFs to the tokenization of real assets, large financial institutions are changing the crypto market. The decision to sell or buy large amounts of cryptocurrency by funds significantly changes the price of the cryptocurrency, increasing its volatility.

How To See What Crypto Whales Are Buying?

Tracking crypto whales is an extremely important action for informed trading. To do this, you'll need crypto trackers, which are tools designed to track large transactions that can influence the supply and demand of the market. In addition, these trackers can show which coins and tokens are attracting interest from large investors. Observing these trends can provide useful information about cryptocurrencies with high growth potential. Platforms like Whale Alert and Whalemap are examples of such tools.

Well, today we told you that crypto whales are important players in the crypto field who set trends. Their actions should be monitored if you want profitable trading and efficient investments.

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