How BTC, ETH, XRP bore the brunt of panic selling

• Whale movements around major cryptocurrencies caused an upset.
• Retail interest ended up growing for BTC but waning for ETH and XRP.

The recent surge in cryptocurrency prices, marking a period of optimism in the crypto sector, took a downturn, and whales appear to be at the center of these market events.

Whales make moves

Whale behavior played a significant role in the decline of major cryptocurrencies. Notably, a whale deposited a substantial 3,100 Bitcoin [BTC] worth $140M into Binance [BNB] just before the market crash.

The 3,100 BTC, initially withdrawn from HTX on the 6th of October 2022 for $20,000, resulted in a staggering profit of $78M (+126%).

We noticed that a whale deposited 3,100 $BTC($140M) to #Binance yesterday before the market crashed.

The 3,100 $BTC was withdrawn from #HTX on October 6, 2022, when the price was $20,000.

The profit is ~$78M (+126%)!https://t.co/P3SxXKMWiZ pic.twitter.com/hQ7HbR0NCv

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) January 4, 2024

However, not all whales experienced positive outcomes. Coinglass’ data revealed that a long order amounting to $14.26M faced liquidation on Huobi.

A tale of profits and losses

Despite the challenges, some whales saw the declining prices as an opportunity. Post the BTC/ETH plunge, two whale wallets strategically purchased Wrapped Bitcoin [WBTC] and Ethereum [ETH] at the market bottom.

For instance, wallet 0x8B20 invested 1.5M USD Coin [USDC] to acquire 35.18 WBTC at $42,641 and spent an additional 1.5M USDC to purchase 674.18 ETH at $2,225.

After the BTC/ETH plummeted, 2 whale wallets bought $WBTC and $ETH at the bottom.

0x8B20 spent 1.5M $USDC to buy 35.18 $WBTC at $42,641 and spent 1.5M $USDC to buy 674.18 $ETH at $2,225.https://t.co/gKzuJwCPu8

0x4198 spent 1.5M $USDC to buy 35.12 $WBTC at $42,708 and spent… pic.twitter.com/ftmQKBbtXR

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) January 3, 2024

This erratic whale behavior raised concerns about its impact on both BTC and ETH. The unpredictable nature of whales introduces volatility, influencing market sentiment and potentially contributing to further price fluctuations.

Interestingly, despite the turbulence caused by whales, retail interest in BTC had seen growth. However, if whales continue with their bearish behavior, the price may plummet even further, which could impact these retail investors negatively.

Source: Santiment

On the contrary, retail interest in ETH witnessed a decline over the past few weeks. Regardless, the chances of these retail investors being vulnerable to sudden whale movements declined.

An exodus of both retail and whale investors could spell trouble for ETH going forward.

Source: SantimentIn addition to ETH, XRP also faced challenges in the retail space. Recent data indicated a significant drop in retail interest towards XRP at press time, accompanied by a notable 9% decline in its price.

Read Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price Prediction 2023-24

However, despite the diminishing retail interest, the trading volume of XRP experienced a noticeable spike, suggesting a potential disconnect between investor sentiment and trading activity.

Source: Santiment

As of press time, BTC was trading at $42,544.09, reflecting a decline of -1.13%. Simultaneously, ETH was priced at $2,222.61, indicating a substantial drop of -6.45% in the last 24 hours.