A crypto whale is a trader or holder whose single order can push the market. There is no official cutoff, but in practice it means orders from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.
What counts as a whale
It depends on the coin: $200K is a whale on a mid-cap and small change on Bitcoin. Size against the coin's normal trading says more than any fixed dollar line.
| Single trade | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| $100K+ | A common floor for a whale trade on an exchange |
| $200K | A whale on a mid-cap coin, routine on Bitcoin |
| $1M+ | A whale on almost any coin |
A transfer is not a trade
Many whale alert tools track transfers. Only a trade shows what the whale decided.
Between wallets, or in and out of an exchange. 500 BTC sent to an exchange may or may not be sold.
An executed buy or sell at a price on a named exchange. It shows what the whale did, not what they will do next.
Why whales matter to everyone else
Whales are often early, and big enough to start a move. A chart shows their buying only after the fact.
Watching whales is information, not advice. Past outcomes do not ensure future results.
How to track a whale
- Watch the live trades. The live whale feed shows large buys and sells across exchanges and on-chain, with side, size, price and exchange.
- Follow named accounts. Hyperliquid names both sides of every trade, so you can follow a proven wallet's live positions.
- Compare with normal. Look for flow that is unusual for the coin and shows up on several exchanges at once.
- Set an alert. A big trade on your coins reaches you as it happens.
Checking the record
Every signal is scored on what price did next, hits and misses alike, on the public track record.
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