TOP-5 crypto whales of today
We have prepared a list of the most prominent and most influential whales of the crypto market, which you should keep an incredibly close eye on. But it should be noted that our list is not a ranking, as it is impossible to rank the whales unambiguously. Firstly, the data on their cryptocurrency fortunes is largely estimated, so inaccuracies are possible. Secondly, whales are fascinating not only for the size of their fortunes but for their ability to influence the crypto markets. So, you should consider the number of coins in the whale's wallet and how actively he uses them.
Satoshi Nakamoto
Although the identity of the creator of Bitcoin is unknown (it is not even known whether it is one person or a whole group), we can say that he (or they) is the giant crypto whale in the world, at least in terms of funds.
The address associated with Satoshi holds 1 million BTC. In current times, that's a modest $37.5 billion.
However, Satoshi is in no hurry to "shake the market" using his huge capital — all these bitcoins have been peacefully lying idle for many years. And the consequences if Satoshi's wallet "comes back to life" are almost impossible to predict.
Changpeng Zhao
The ex-CEO of cryptocurrency giant Binance is considered one of the biggest whales in Bitcoin and, by itself, Binance Coin. However, it is impossible to estimate the volumes of cryptocurrency he owns with precision. Zhao does not advertise this information, and experts assessing his crypto wealth cannot reach a consensus (more accurate than "a lot").
But getting a rough idea of the figures in question is possible. Zhao's fortune is estimated at around $96 billion, not including his cryptocurrency assets. Zhao claims he invests all his free money in crypto and does not own fiat assets. So, we can safely say that Zhao's crypto-assets are equivalent to tens of billions of dollars.
In addition, unlike some other whales, Zhao is an active crypto trader, so his assets are constantly influencing the market.
Chris Larsen
Chris Larsen is best known in the crypto community as one of the key players in the creation and launch of the Ripple cryptocurrency. Ripple has become one of the most popular coin whales; among them, Larsen is by far the biggest.
He owns at least 5.17 billion XRP (about $3.2 billion). Simply put, at least 10 percent of all XRP in circulation is held in the wallets of one man — Larsen.
Michael Sailor
Michael Saylor, the owner of MicroStrategy, holds a "modest" fortune in cryptocurrency by the standards of the giant whales — about 17.7 thousand BTC, "only" about 630 million dollars.
However, his company, MicroStrategy, started buying up BTC three years ago; the exact number of coins purchased is unknown.
Most importantly, Sailor is one of the most active whales. He regularly uses his fortune to manipulate markets, including the Bitcoin market. So you should keep a closer eye on him than most more giant but less active whales.
Tim Draper
The billionaire and famous venture capitalist is widely known for his activity in the crypto market. People often remember his extremely successful deal to buy 30,000 bitcoins confiscated from Silk Road at a throwaway price of $632 a piece. Those coins are now worth just over a billion dollars. However, exactly how much BTC is in Draper's wallets now is unknown. The entrepreneur himself claims that he only buys BTC, not sells it, unlike other coins.
In addition to BTC, Draper's portfolio also includes Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Tezos (XTZ), Ripple (XRP), Aragon (ANT), and other tokens. And it has already been seen actively manipulating the price of some of them, most notably BCH and ANT.
Not included in the list
Our whale ranking is missing some people that many people expected to be on it.
The first one is Vitalik Buterin. For a long time, he was one of the most giant crypto whales in the world. However, by his admission in 2022, he had fallen out of the number of whales even in the "native" Ethereum network. The reason for this was the collapse of several projects in which Buterin made significant cryptocurrency investments. Some projects make Vitalik a whale, sending him large amounts of their tokens as a marketing gimmick. For example, the creators of Dogelon Mars gave Buterin half of their token issue. However, Vitalik quickly removes such assets, donating them to charity.
The second is Elon Musk. Despite his vast fortune and interest in cryptocurrencies, the billionaire has not been seen owning a significant stake in any crypto asset. Yes, he has a massive influence on the crypto market, but it is not related to the cryptocurrencies in his wallets but to his media capabilities.