Bitcoin whale is a term used to refer to entities or individuals who hold huge amounts of bitcoin. There are over a thousand individuals that own 40 percent of the market. Bitcoin whales have the ability to control the value of cryptocurrencies.
According to a report that was published in the Telegraph about 13 percent of all bitcoin is subscribed to around 100 individual accounts. The same report revealed that, out of roughly 100 million bitcoin holders about forty percent of all bitcoin is held by 2,500 known accounts.
Single transactions by the Whales can greatly result into massive changes in the price of bitcoin. Coindesk used data from crypto exchange OKEx to provide a detailed report on how whales had the ability to influence prices as cryptocurrency soared.
Analysts allude that whales are able to influence the value of bitcoin because its market is very thin. The new data revealed how whales and institutions were able to buy dips and dispose them when prices surge.
According to OKEx: “Large bitcoin holders are in the business of buying low and selling high… Ultimately, whales seek to drive the market, shake out retail traders in panic and capitalize on opportunities to buy relatively cheap coins.”
Investopedia lists Satoshi Nakamoto, the Founder of Bitcoin, Winklevoss twins and venture capitalists like Barry Silbert and Tim Draper as the biggest bitcoin whales.
Why they are called bitcoin whales?
Large bitcoin holders are referred as bitcoin whales because their transactions disturb the waters that smaller investors swim in. Their transactions have greater impact like whales in water, and small holders are like small fish.
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