Ethereum, XRP, SOL: Top Whale Moves Shake Altcoin Market in Early June

This early June 2025 saw crypto whales in action as big holders moved large positions during the ongoing bull run. Whale Alert showed on June 5 that 12,907 BTC ($1.3 billion) moved from exchanges to private wallets.

Glassnode noted that big BTC holders were back in accumulation mode. In Bitcoin and other major coins (ETH, SOL, ARB, XRP), whales have been accumulating, redistributing or offloading coins, moves that have had a big impact on price.

Largest Whale Transfers This Week

Bitcoin (BTC) Whale Transfers

Bitcoin whales were busy this week. A Whale Alert post on June 3 showed a 10,500 BTC ($1.1 billion) transfer from Bitfinex to an unknown wallet. Since this moved BTC off a major exchange, analysts see it as a bullish sign that whales are withdrawing coins to hold rather than sell. Adding to this, Santiment reported that in early June, whales added 79,244 BTC ($8.3 B) over the week.

Glassnode confirms the largest Bitcoin holders are now back in accumulation after briefly being in distribution. All this crypto whale buying has coincided with Bitcoin’s price rising: This early June, BTC traded around $104–$108K, not far from the all-time high. As a result, analysts say whale Bitcoin transfers off exchanges have reduced supply and driven the rally.

Ethereum (ETH) Whale Movements

Ethereum whale activity is also bullish. On June 4, blockchain analytics showed a whale bought 108,278 ETH ($283 M) via an over-the-counter (OTC) deal. Galaxy Digital’s OTC desk withdrew 89,000 ETH ($233.5 M) from exchanges in 12 hours and then sent a total of 108,278 ETH to a single whale wallet. This massive buy signals strong institutional demand and reduces ETH selling pressure on public markets.

Glassnode data confirms the effect, noting exchange ETH balances fell to a 7-year low, meaning a supply shock. Santiment reports that whale addresses holding 10K–100K ETH added 1.27 million ETH since mid-May and now hold 26.5 million, a two-year high. In other words, Ethereum whales are buying ETH and that can push the price up. Santiment analyst CarlMoon even thinks ETH could go to $5,000” if this continues.

Solana (SOL) Whale Activity

Solana saw bearish whale flows. Whales sold on SOL. CoinDesk reported that from June 3–5, around 3 million SOL were moved out of large wallets to exchanges, causing big sell-offs. In fact, Whale Alert showed a single 661,113 SOL (∼$106 M) transfer on June 3.

A price bounce followed this whale transfer as Solana jumped 4.2% that day, illustrating how these moves create volatility. By June 5, Solana’s price had dropped below $150. In summary, Solana whales are trimming exposure and turning some of the rally into a pullback.

Arbitrum (ARB) Whale Accumulation

On Arbitrum, whales are accumulating not selling. Data from Glassnode and others show large ARB holdings are growing. Binance reports a whale transfer of 4.1 million ARB ($3.3 M) from Binance to a private wallet. The receiving address now holds 8 million ARB, indicating heavy accumulation.

Binance-backed research also notes on-chain metrics e.g. wallets with more than 1 M ARB increased by 26% in a short period. Big players are betting on Arbitrum’s growth, possibly new DApps, an airdrop or an altseason.  ARB whale transactions this week were net buying, indicating bullishness for this L2 token.

Ripple (XRP) Whale and Escrow Flows

Ripple’s own crypto whale moves have had a big impact on XRP supply and price. Early this month, Ripple reportedly locked 670 million XRP into escrow, two transactions of 200 M and 470 M. Then on June 4, Ripple reportedly released 1 billion XRP ($2.2 B) from escrow, meaning three Whale Alert transfers (400M, 500M, 100M).

After re-locking 670M, net increase in supply was +330M XRP. Overall, news sources note that since early June, over 1 billion XRP ($2.2B) has been unlocked from escrow. That is a lot of supply entering the market and as a result, XRP price fell to $2.14 support.

Spot market flows show more money leaving exchanges; $54.68 M out vs $49.06 M in.  This means selling pressure as the unlocked tokens enter circulation. Ripple’s whale moves involving locking and unlocking XRP added supply to the market creating headwinds for XRP’s rally in early June.

Market Impact

This week, crypto whales made big moves in Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana and Arbitrum. Net effect was bullish for BTC and ETH as whales took money out of exchanges, leading to accumulation and tightening of sell pressure. ARB whale wallet holdings increased, indicating future confidence in the L2. SOL was bearish from big whale outflows leading to sell offs.

XRP’s unlocked escrow supply caused short-term volatility. Overall, early June crypto whale activity supported the larger crypto market rally and shed light on risk zones in specific assets.

Conclusion

Crypto whale activities dominated the market this week. Overall, the net effect of these top whale actions was cautiously bullish. In aggregate, crypto whales bought BTC, ETH and ARB and the upswing, while isolated large sells (especially in SOL) tempered momentum.

Moving forward, traders and investors are advised to watch these large holders closely to see if their next moves amplify or reverse current trends.

FAQs

Why do crypto whale moves matter?

Because crypto whales control so much supply, their transactions in/out of exchanges, large buy/sell orders can move market sentiment and liquidity. For example, when whales moved 10,500 BTC off Bitfinex, it tightened supply and was seen as bullish.

Are whales driving the June 2025 rally?

Probably to a big degree. On-chain data shows whales have been accumulating Bitcoin and Ethereum in early June. These accumulation trends reduce sell pressure and often precede price rises, so it seems crypto whales are fueling the rally in major coins.

Why do crypto whale moves sometimes cause big price swings?

Large transfers often precede market reactions. If a crypto whale dumps coins into an exchange (inflow), it can trigger selling and a price drop. Conversely, withdrawing coins (outflow) can remove sell supply and lift prices. For example, massive SOL outflows of 3 M SOL coincided with a 5% drop in SOL price.

What has recent whale activity signaled for the crypto market?

Recent data is cautiously optimistic. Whale accumulation of BTC, ETH, and ARB is bullish, while the release of locked XRP and big SOL sells is bearish.

Glossary

On-Chain Transfer: A transaction on the blockchain. Large on-chain transfers (e.g. via Whale Alert) show whale activity.

Exchange Inflow/Outflow: Tokens moving to (inflow) or from (outflow) a crypto exchange. Inflows are selling pressure; outflows are accumulation.

OTC (Over-the-Counter): Private trades outside public exchanges. Large OTC deals (e.g. ETH above) allow whales to buy/sell without slippage.

Escrow (XRP-specific): XRP tokens locked on the ledger to be released later. Ripple’s monthly escrow releases (and lock-backs) impact XRP supply.

Sources

Coinpedia

Cryptorank

TradingView

Thecryptobasic

Blockchainnews

Aiinvest

Binance