The whales decide whether a cryptocurrency sinks or swims.
On November 11 this year, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy protection. This was a result of CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s decision to save other crypto firms, such as Alameda Research. It led to major losses for the exchange.
2022 has been particularly precarious for the crypto market, with companies like Luna and Celsius completely shutting down earlier in the year. Through the ups and downs of the market, one thing that remains consistent is the presence of crypto whales that heavily manipulate the value of a token by buying and selling it in massive quantities. If you have crypto investments, it always makes sense to evaluate what the whales are buying and selling to keep yourself afloat no matter what direction they choose to swim in. With that being said, here are some of the cryptocurrencies whales are investing in right now.
Solana (SOL)
With a transaction speed of 50,000 TPS (transactions per second) and low transaction costs (between US$0.00001 and US$0.00025), it should come as no surprise that Solana is an attractive investment. What makes it even more attractive is the fact that it has a much smaller impact than other cryptocurrencies with each transaction taking less energy than two Google searches.
While Solana does attract whale attention, the company behind the cryptocurrency, Solana Labs, is also quick to take action on whales and their activities. As of June, Solana Labs took control of a whale’s account to liquidate its investment through over-the-counter (OTC) trades. The whale had US$20 million in Solana and had used about 5.7 million in SOL to borrow US$108 million worth of stablecoins. The company was worried that if they didn’t intervene, the whale could cause chaos for other Solana holders.
Shiba Inu (SHIB)
Shiba Inu is the biggest crypto token in terms of dollar value held by crypto whales. This token’s popularity isn’t anything new. Last year, the token gained significant attention when Elon Musk tweeted out a picture of his Shiba Inu, causing transaction volumes to surge by over 700%. This year, the launch of Shiba Inu’s metaverse—with 100,595 plots of virtual land up for grabs for anywhere from 0.2 ETH to 1 ETH—is to thank for the token’s popularity. As of November 16, the token has a value of US$0.00000939 with its trading volumes being up by 15.14% in the last 24 hours. The token ranks 13 among the top 100 cryptocurrencies based on market capitalization.
MANA
Another token worth mentioning is MANA, which, according to the cryptocurrency analysis website WhaleStats, is the most widely-held cryptocurrency token among whales. With MANA being the token of the Decentraland metaverse, it makes sense why the token would be popular with the whales. Just last year, two of the top five most expensive virtual plots of land were bought on the Decentraland metaverse. As of November 16, the token has a value of US$0.4482 and ranks 50 among the top 100 cryptocurrencies based on market capitalization.
Bitgert (BRISE)
The final cryptocurrency that whales have been lapping up is Bitgert. Bitgert has a transaction speed of 100,000 TPS and a transaction cost of US$0.00000001, which is perhaps why it is being called the Solana killer. Besides this, the crypto also offers a buy-back function which when turned on automatically buys back and burns tokens every time Bitgert tokens exchange hands.
As of November 16, the currency is trading at US$0.0000003559. While it may have received whale attention, the token does have a fair share of issues. The first is that it simply claims to have a zero-transaction fee when in fact it charges a 12% fee of which 5% goes for buybacks, 4% goes to holders and 3% is directed towards marketing the project. The team behind the project has also been under fire for using AI-generated images to fake their identities. Besides, as of writing this article, there has been no significant reportage on Bitgert which should again be considered a red flag.
While this might seem like we’re ending on a sour note, Bitgert should serve as a warning for those who hurry into their crypto investments. This project should show you that just because whales are buying a particular cryptocurrency doesn’t mean you should blindly rush behind them to follow suit. Make sure you carefully evaluate your investments, not just in Bitgert but in any cryptocurrency in general.
This article is meant for informational purposes only. Please make investment decisions based on your discretion.
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