If you noticed, lately the term "whales" is often used in crypto article. For example, the article Big Greedy Investors Buy BTC When Prices Rise.
Whales or whales are the largest mammals in the world, symbolizing the size of a person's holdings of cryptocurrencies, institutions or organizations in the world of cryptocurrencies.
Usually the title ‘Bitcoin whale’ is specifically for Satoshi Nakamoto asset investor who has a wallet address with over 1000 BTC. Those who own large amounts of other crypto assets are called ‘crypto whales’.
Those with the title ‘Bitcoin whale’ include Nakamoto who is reported to have around 1 million BTC and The Winkelvoss.
Their uniqueness as whales is that they are able to manipulate the crypto market for their own profit.
For example, if they want more coins at a cheaper price, they just need to make a sale that will push the market pressure down and increase the liquidity of the coin at a lower price. Then, make a repurchase by adding more coins at a cheaper price.
If you are wondering if the presence of these whales is risky or not, the answer depends on the situation.
When involving proof of stake protocols, the presence of whales brings stability as long as they are transparent to develop the network.
If they act the other way, controlling the majority of funds indirectly the action will have a negative impact on the centralization of power.
