- According to crypto analytics platform Santiment, during the recent market downturn, prominent crypto investors, known as whales and sharks, are amassing stablecoins rather than completely divesting from digital assets.
- The rise in the proportion of stablecoins held by these large investors implies that they’re strategically positioning themselves for future market movements, not merely exiting the crypto space.
Crypto intelligence provider Santiment has reported a distinct trend among influential crypto investors, termed whales and sharks, in the wake of the market correction. Rather than cashing out entirely from digital currencies, these investors are safeguarding their wealth in the form of stablecoins. Stablecoins are digital assets whose value is tethered to a specific commodity or currency, such as the US dollar, serving as a refuge during volatile market swings.
Santiment scrutinizes the behavior of whales and sharks—those who control wallets with a range of $100,000 to $10 million in crypto assets—during different market phases. The current data reveals a surge in the accumulation of popular stablecoins like Tether (USDT), US Dollar Coin (USDC), and Dai (DAI) by these larger investors.
According to Santiment, over 40% of Tether’s supply is now held by these whales and sharks, marking their highest holding since November 2021. For USD Coin, whales and sharks hold more than 37% of the supply, the most considerable amount since February 2023. Close to 40% of Dai’s supply, the most significant proportion since December 2020, is in the hands of these dominant investors.
These figures suggest that these key players haven’t deserted the crypto realm; instead, they’ve strategically shifted their holdings to stablecoins, likely in anticipation of favorable conditions for reentry into more volatile assets.
While the overall market caps for stablecoins have been slightly waning, Santiment’s analysis indicates that this decline is not due to these large investors unloading their holdings. This behavior provides positive indications that these influential market players stand ready to inject capital back into the crypto market when the timing aligns with their strategic plans.
