# Whale

> A person or entity that holds a very large amount of a coin or token, big enough to move the market.

Canonical URL: https://fudfomo.co/glossary/whale
Source: What The Block! Dictionary v1.0 (last updated 2026-04-25), browsable at https://wtb.fudfomo.co.

## Definition

Whale is informal slang for a holder large enough that their trades visibly move the price. Whales can be early investors, project teams, exchange wallets, or institutional funds.

On-chain analysts watch whale wallets for signals about which way major holders might be leaning. Big whale moves can warn of selling pressure or large rotations between assets.

## Related terms

- [Market Cap](https://fudfomo.co/glossary/market-cap): The current price of a coin multiplied by how many are in circulation. A rough size measure.
- [OTC Desk](https://fudfomo.co/glossary/otc-desk): An over-the-counter trading desk that matches large crypto buyers and sellers off the public exchanges.
- [Tokenomics](https://fudfomo.co/glossary/tokenomics): The economic design of a token: total supply, how it is distributed, and how it changes over time.

## See the full catalogue

What The Block! covers more than 2,000 plain-English crypto terms, delivered as embeddable hover-state tooltips for crypto exchanges. https://wtb.fudfomo.co