Altcoin Whale Alert: $1B in SOL Transfers, $44M ETH Long and XRP Sell-Off

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This article was first published on The Bit Journal.

Crypto whales were active in a number of top altcoins this week. From Solana whales making huge transfers to Ethereum leveraged positions, these moves provide a window into sentiment in the market. 

Billion-dollar Solana transfers and large Ethereum trades took place among major altcoins this week. These altcoin whale activities may have potential to translate into large-scale selling or buying in the future, and the direction of their influence can vary from one minute to another.

Solana whales moved over $1 1billion in $SOL, meanwhile, a large Ethereum whale opened up a $44 44million long on a DeFi exchange. 

Solana Whales Shifted $1B in Funds

This week, altcoin whales on Solana (SOL) triggered alerts by moving huge amounts of the token. Whale Alert revealed a series of six deposits totaling 7.6 million SOL (valued at more than $1billion) to previously dormant wallets.

Single swaps varied between 0.97M and 1.63M SOL. The receiving wallets were new and unknown, leading to speculation that an institution or big holder was on the move with their funds, or getting ready for a sale. The moment these transfers occurred, Solana’s price dived.

Spot SOL ETFs also drew hefty inflows to the tune of $53 million, indicating bullish interest. Yet whale-powered transfers indirectly weighed on $SOL’s price for a bit. In other words, these altcoin whale activities put an element of caution into this rally as big holders might be taking profits or just reshuffling their holdings.

Ethereum (ETH): Whales Accumulate And Then Take Positions

Ethereum whales were also active like never before. Meanwhile, 10-100K ETH wallets now hold just over 21m ETH, an all-time high for that bracket, according to on-chain analysts. Large sized whales have approximately 4.3million ETH as of now.

This gathering of record amounts indicates that institutions and large investors are accumulating $ETH on the low, restricting supply on exchanges. Reports claim $ETH reserves on Binance continued to drop in November as whales transferred their $ETH into staking or cold storage.

Adding to this,  a well known whale (1011short) deposited 10M USDC on DEX and took a 5× long of ETH from 15000 (Total exposure $44.15M at entry price $2,945.83).

This trade started slightly underwater, and illustrates a bullish bias among leading market participants while ETH is trading around $3K. Very large leveraged bets can, of course, drive sentiment, and if successful, could help to cement an emergent uptrend.

On the other end, some smaller whale actions came to light as well. There was a transfer of 19,000ETH ($55.6M) going into Ethereum’s Beacon staking contract this week, hinting towards more staking interest among potential whales.

XRP: Whales Dumping as ETF FOMO Grows

The biggest XRP investors sold more than they bought this week. Crypto analytics indicate that heavy $XRP holders pulled out approximately 190million XRP ($450M) over a limited timeline. This heavy selling took place days after a host of spot XRP ETFs made their debuts this November.

Even though ETF inflows totaled $245M over that time, the so-called “sell-the-news” reaction began and whales offloaded. There were reports of 480M XRP sold by the whales within a span of 48 hours.

These outflows weighed on $XRP’s price while ETF demand remained. Analysts charted out that 58.5% of XRP supply is now below cost for holders, the lowest figure since the latter part of 2024.

In short, whale sales in $XRP this week further compounded its correction. These large sales suppressed the ETF-related demand, which ultimately sent prices towards strong support levels.

Meme and DeFi Coins Movers: DOGE, SHIB, ENA

Altcoin whales also made moves in popular lesser-known altcoins outside of the majors:

Dogecoin (DOGE) – A large batch of transfers from Coinbase wallets was seen, probably an accumulation, totaling about $39 million worth of $DOGE. In particular, a number of incoming deposits from a Coinbase hot wallet (13-28 million DOGE each) raised suspicion. This indicates large holders might be setting up to buy the dip.

Technical analysts pointed to chart patterns suggesting a long-term rally was in the works, predicting $DOGE might rise to $1.80 should history repeat itself. These whale buys have helped keep $DOGE’s price afloat in the short term, during which time prices are down.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) – According to data from Nansen Analytics, SHIB whales have added 4.7% over the last 30 days, totaling 86.89billion SHIB. And that surge came despite $SHIB being down 65% from the year before.

Bulls returned since the “bull-bear power” indicator switched green with an 18% price increase from Nov 21. Long story short; $SHIB whale accumulation reports confidence at these lower levels, with analysts monitoring key resistance (near $0.0000088) to signal an extended bounce.

Ethena (ENA) – Similarly, whale interest around $ENA is heating up as well. Upcoming crypto lending protocol Ethena has seen rising demand from large holders, but the price still has to clear resistance levels before it becomes bullish. Analysts say that whales are closely watching ENA (down 52% YTD), and have started to hold their positions. Analysis indicated accumulation was building. 

What Whales Are Doing to the Rally

Whale trades are often the harbinger of big price action. Big buys can indicate confidence and support rallies, while large sells can prompt steep declines. This week’s altcoin whale activities paint a mixed picture. In some altcoins (SOL, ETH, SHIB), the accumulation by whales indicates a stabilizing base, and in others (XRP and DOGE), heavy selling has fueled corrections.

Whale buys in $SOL and $ETH are in line with positive sentiment, newfound support levels, pointing to increased demand. According to experts, $ETH whales are on a delicate accumulation period as they hold record amounts of the asset.

Large transfers off exchanges (such as $39M for DOGE off Coinbase) decrease the available sell side liquidity which, all else equal, can support prices if demand does not change. And whales can also flood exchanges with tokens and overwhelm buyers.

There were also record flows into ETFs this week (e.g. SOL ETF Netflows and XRP ETF Netflows). The conflict between $245M inflows in XRP ETF vs whales dumping simultaneously caused a great price dislocation. Likewise, SOL whale transfers and big spot-ETF inflows (more than 53M on November 25) brought volatility.

These whale maneuvers added up to a roller-coaster ride for the crypto market this week. Altcoin prices wavered as whales shifted capital. Ethereum whales, however, seemed to be building up longs. This may reflect belief in a coming ETH uptrend, while XRP whales’ offloading implies caution despite ETF optimism

These whale-driven moves have come at a time of mixed price activity in crypto markets. Some altcoin dips were temporary while others steadied or rebounded on the back of whale buying.

All in all, this week’s altcoin whale activities indicates that crypto whales are still very much in the game. Their accumulation and distribution activities continue to drive the short-term dynamics of the altcoin rally.

Conclusion

Crypto whale action has been of particular interest for altcoins this week. Whales transferred large amount of $SOL, opened a leveraged $ETH position and bought or sold amounts of XRP, DOGE, SHIB and ENA.

These manoeuvres, as well as institutional interest (spot ETF inflows for SOL/XRP), were roughly concurrent with sharp price swings. Traders should keep in mind that although whale accumulation has a habit of forming a bullish base, notably the action seen with ETH and SOL whales, heavy whale selling is often accompanied by sharp pullbacks.

Observing such large transfers gives hints about the strength and longevity of the current crypto run.

Indeed, as a whole, these whale movements, buying some alts and selling others, have played huge roles in determining the market trends this week.

Glossary

Whale: A party with a very large holding in cryptocurrency. 

Altcoin: Any cryptocurrency that’s not Bitcoin. Examples are Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Ripple (XRP), etc.

Spot ETF: An exchange-traded fund that holds the actual cryptocurrency (e.g. SOL or XRP) rather than futures.

Long Position: A wager that the price of a cryptocurrency will increase. (e.g. a whale placing a 5× long with 15000 ETH).

RSI (Relative Strength Index): A technical indicator of price momentum.

Frequently Asked Questions About Top Altcoin Whale Activities This Week

What influence on altcoin prices does the whales’ movement have?

When whales purchase or accumulate a buy, they have the ability to prop up or boost the price by drawing supply away. Similarly, large whale selling can also put prices down. Traders follow these moves as signals of market sentiment.

What altcoins saw whale action this week?

Solana, Ethereum, XRP, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu and Ethena saw significant altcoin whale activities. Solana whales transported $1B of SOL, Ethereum whale entered a $44M long and whales dropped huge XRP amounts. SHIB, DOGE additionally saw whale accumulation.

Is it bullish that whales are stacking up?

Whale accumulation could be seen as bullish if it continues, as it suggests confidence from larger holders. But context matters. Whales might be reshuffling or cashing out at any time. It’s one factor among many (like overall market trend and macro conditions) to consider.

References

Whale-alert

Utoday

Crypto.news

Thecryptobasic

Cryptorank

Bitget