Crypto whales are individuals or organizations that hold very large quantities of specific cryptocurrencies and make very significant movements on the market. There is no specific amount of cryptocurrencies that one should hold to be considered a whale, but generally, if someone holds at least 10% of specific crypto, they are considered a whale. In the case of Bitcoin, whales are considered those that hold at least 1,000 BTC in their wallets.

Because of this criteria, there are not that many whales on the market, but those that do, hold a very significant power. These whales have the power to change the whole market sentiment with just a few trades. In most cases, these whales create a big buy or sell order and manipulate the prices. For example, a crypto whale can open a very large sell order, and since cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and speculative assets, this big sell order is enough to drop prices significantly. Then these whales can buy back the cryptocurrencies they have sold at reduced prices and end up with the same amount of crypto and a very big chunk of profit. 

Crypto whales can also be considered a group of people who come together and manipulate the market. There are times when a few big investors come together and manipulate the market by behaving as one big whale.

While these whales can have a significant impact on the market, tracking all of their activities can give us an insight into the market that will be beneficial for us. Tracking these activities is easy since cryptocurrencies are decentralized and everything is recorded on public ledgers. When these transactions are made, the price of selected cryptocurrency enters high volatility, and this is especially present when these are buy or sell orders, rather than simple transactions from one wallet to another. Since whales hold a very large portion of these tokens, their transactions can greatly affect the liquidity of the market, so for example, if whales are selling large quantities of Bitcoin, the Bitcoin liquidity will increase as large quantities of tokens will be entering the market. 

But just tracking these buy or sell orders is not enough, as when these orders are placed it might be too late to take necessary action. This is why investors should be tracking exchange transactions these whales are doing. For example, when a whale is depositing large quantities of crypto into an exchange (these whales rarely hold their tokens on exchange wallets) this might be a signal that they plan on selling these tokens. 

With this information, regular investors and traders can make better decisions about their future trades and investments. So when you are a regular trader and see that some individual has deposited large amounts of Bitcoin into an exchange, it might be better to sell your Bitcoin or open short positions. 

But of course, these deposits are not guarantees that things will develop as expected. There can be cases when whales are depositing these cryptocurrencies for completely different reasons, so jumping to conclusions is not advised. It’s better to look for additional information that will most likely be present across different social media platforms and only act after you have every detail down pat. 

Now let's take a look at how we can track these whale activities. There are multiple different methods of doing so, and the best practice would be to use every single method in order to have a better market read. 

The first and most easy way to track these whale activities is to use specially designed tools. There are special whale-tracking websites and social media accounts that make it their job to track every single whale transaction on the market. When a whale makes a significant transaction, these platforms immediately share all of the information. This information usually includes which cryptocurrencies have been transferred, how much they are worth, and from where to where it was transferred. They also provide blockchain data that acts as proof of these transactions and when using such tools it is important to always check this information. There might be a case where fake websites or social media accounts might try to spread false information in order to create market panic, so always double-check if the information is legit. 

Another way to track these transactions is to look at large exchange deposits. While the aforementioned websites will share most of these transactions, there might be some that can slip past their notice, and this is why it is good to check large deposits going into crypto exchanges. There are several tools for this, and some exchanges might even have this information publicly available.

Lastly, the most technical and hands-on way to track these whale transactions is to do them manually. It does not pose a challenge to find whale crypto addresses online and you can simply collect these addresses and monitor them yourself. You can check their status manually each day, or have a tool that will inform you when any of these wallets makes a transaction. 

Cryptocurrencies are volatile assets and with enough funds, manipulating the market does not pose a big challenge. This is why crypto whales are very significant players in the market and they have the power and ability to change the market direction if they want to. Since crypto trading and investing is a risky deal and it is important to always be in the loop with market trends, tracking these whale activities is an essential part of becoming a successful trader. While these whales might rarely interact with the market in a way that will significantly impact prices, when they do decide to get involved, being prepared will be greatly beneficial. Traders who actively track whale transactions can understand what these whales are planning on doing, and they can act accordingly to make profits themselves.