Massive Whale Transfers Signal A Crypto Shake-Up as Altcoins Surged 7.6%

Between May 11 and May 16, 2025, Crypto whales (big holders) made a bunch of big moves that coincided with a broader crypto upswing. Blockchain trackers like Whale Alert, Lookonchain and on-chain analytics firms flagged these transactions, totaling over $1 billion in a few hours.

Notably, on May 15, Whale Alert spotted five transactions worth $1B+ in a short window. These were big flows in Bitcoin, Ethereum and altcoins that traders are looking for market signals. Below, we break down each whale transfer by asset, time, USD value, wallets, source, and its effect on price and sentiment.

Bitcoin (BTC) Whale Moves

On May 11, Whale Alert reported a whale depositing 900 BTC (about $93.8M at ~$104K/BTC) into a centralized exchange. This was a deposit to a CEX, which is usually seen as sell-side pressure. The price of Bitcoin was around $103,000 at the time, up slightly on the day, so traders were looking for sell-offs. Big BTC poured into an exchange could mean increased liquidity to sell which can slow down the bullish momentum.

On the other hand, on May 13 (02:03 UTC) Whale Alert logged 7,999 BTC (≈$818.9M at the time) moved from Coinbase to an unknown wallet. Big outflows like this are usually bullish since coins leaving an exchange usually go into cold storage (long term holding) rather than being sold.

The size, almost $819M, is one of the biggest single BTC moves in months. Analysts say big net outflows like this can mean accumulation by whales and reduce supply on exchanges.

These two moves, one depositing 900 BTC to an exchange and the other withdrawing ~8,000 BTC, are a tug-of-war. Overall, whales were net buyers of Bitcoin. Industry reports said whales bought over 20,000 BTC in the last few days. The net effect helped Bitcoin go above $100K in mid-May. Market commentators saw the big Coinbase outflow as a bullish sign and the 900 BTC deposit as a smaller opposite move.

Ethereum (ETH) Whale Moves

On May 16 at 08:43 UTC, Whale Alert detected 24,496 ETH ($63.8M at ~$2,603/ETH) moved from an unknown wallet to “Ceffu”. Ceffu is Coinbase’s institutional custody arm. In other words, a whale moved ~$64M worth of ETH into Coinbase custody. Big deposits to exchange custody can mean accumulating or prepping to sell but custody transfers alone are usually accumulation. This was during the rally (ETH was ~$2,582 at that time).

Even bigger, on May 15 at 11:29 UTC Whale Alert flagged 129,392 ETH (~$330.8M at ~$2,558/ETH) moved from an unknown wallet into Coinbase. This one transaction (over $330M) is huge: analysts said it might be an institutional deposit or repositioning.

Large inflows to an exchange often precede selling; one report noted that similar huge XRP and ADA deposits to Coinbase meant sell-pressure. But some on-chain analysts said the ETH deposit could be internal rebalancing. Either way, this is one of the largest ETH whale moves in recent history.

On May 16, BlockBeats reported a whale borrowed 8,613 ETH (~$22.4M at ~$2,612/ETH) in a loan (collateralized with 10M USDT). In other words, a trader borrowed to buy 8,613 ETH in one hour. This is aggressive leverage; if ETH drops, the position will auto-liquidate and signal bullishness.

It also injects volatility. The whale now has ~10M USDT debt against those 8,613 ETH. Such leverage was seen in context of ETH’s rally (ETH ~$2,612 at buy price). The move means strong whale bullishness but also vulnerability if prices drop.

Another whale “cleared holdings” by moving 2,000 ETH (~$3.66M) to a CEX on May 16. The report named a 2015 ICO-era whale who sold off ETH and “transferred 2,000 ETH to a centralized exchange (CEX)”. This means a partial exit or profit-taking by that long-term holder. Again, deposit to exchange means selling.

Since ETH was ~$2,583 at that time, this was a small sell compared to the big inflow above but notable as a high-profile address moving funds for cash-out.In total, the mid-May ETH whale activity was a combination of huge deposits (like 129K ETH) and leveraged accumulation.

On-chain analysts also noted that Abraxas Capital (a fund) had withdrawn 278,639 ETH (~$655M) from exchanges since May 7, taking profits. This fits with the idea of whale accumulation in ETH. In short, many whales were moving large ETH amounts: tens of thousands to exchanges or custody, and others accumulating via leverage.

The net market effect was mixed: large exchange inflows often bearish, coexisted with significant off-exchange accumulation (bullish). The 24,000+ ETH to custody likely stabilized sentiment, while the 129K ETH deposit may have spooked sellers. Overall Ethereum continued to rally, trading in the mid-$2,500s during this activity.

Solana (SOL) Whale Moves

May 12, Onchain data showed a Solana whale or institution unstaked 103,040.6 SOL (≈$17.7M at ~$171.7/SOL) after a month of inactivity. “Unstaking” means the whale withdrew its SOL from staking rewards (e.g. Lido) to liquid form. This kind of move often precedes selling. BeinCrypto noted this as a signal of growing sell pressure on SOL. At the time, SOL’s price was ~$171.57 (down ~3.9% in 24h). The unstaking likely reflected profit-taking after Solana’s recent surge. SOL had jumped ~88% from $91 to $171 over 4 weeks.

On the same day, a wallet labeled “Pump.fun” transferred 132,000 SOL (~$22.6M) to Kraken. Pump.fun, a token issuance platform, reportedly moving funds to Kraken is effectively a whale deposit into a major exchange. This, too, was seen as a bearish signal.

In fact, analysts noted Pump.fun had already sent 3 million SOL to Kraken in recent months. The $22.6M Kraken deposit on May 12 likely added to downward pressure. In the following days, SOL’s price did tick down from the recent highs, reflecting the large sell-side flows.

These whale actions suggest profit-taking amid Solana’s rally. Multiple large outflows to exchanges indicate whales were cashed up on high prices. CoinMetrics and DeFiLlama data still showed strong network growth (Solana led blockchains in Q1 revenue and had the highest active addresses), but whales appeared cautious. 

The immediate effect of these moves was a modest pullback from SOL’s peak, though longer-term sentiment remains mixed (strong network usage vs. whale profit-taking).

Major Altcoin Whale Moves

Beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum crypto whale movements, other altcoins also saw massive whale movements.

Cardano (ADA)

Two big ADA moves happened back-to-back on May 15. First, 70,131,890 ADA ($54.0M at $0.769/ADA) was moved into Coinbase from an unknown wallet. Minutes later, 68,769,654 ADA ($52.97M) was transferred out of Coinbase to an anonymous address. These matching flows (~$54M both ways) suggest an exchange or OTC trade, not a clear net flow.

One interpretation is internal exchange rebalancing, as Coindoo reported. Regardless, on-chain analysts pointed out that such a large Coinbase outflow (68.7M ADA) is often seen as bullish (tokens moving to cold wallets for holding).

At the time, ADA was under pressure; it had just lost 7.7% in 24h (from $0.8293 to ~$0.7728), so some took the mega-withdrawal as a sign of accumulation. The Coinbase inflow could suggest buying pressure into the exchange; Coindoo noted it as a potential distribution or rebalancing. Overall, ADA’s price formed a bearish triple-top pattern by May 15 and the whale moves seemed to reflect that uncertainty: large transfers but no clear direction.

XRP (Ripple)

On May 15, 11:29 UTC, Whale Alert recorded 29,576,560 XRP (~$73.14M) sent from an unknown wallet to Coinbase. CoinStats reported the same and said “this raises fears of a major sell-off”. Large XRP deposits near resistance often precede selling.

At that time XRP was trading at $2.48 (recent high ~$2.64). The $73M inflow to Coinbase got everyone’s attention. This type of move usually means a whale is preparing to dump into the market. In the hours that followed, XRP dipped below $2.50.

In summary, the 30M XRP to exchange was seen as bearish/volatile and could mean selling pressure.

Dogecoin (DOGE)

On May 12, Whale Alert saw a series of 5 transactions totaling 807,378,538 DOGE (~$149.8M at $0.1853/DOGE) in about 1 minute. These 5 transactions moved roughly 807 million DOGE between unknown wallets (not to an exchange). The market reaction was unusual; instead of selling off, DOGE’s price and volume skyrocketed.

At the time, DOGE was trading at $0.1860, up 7.6% in 24h and the 24h volume was up 73.8% to $1.24B. U.Today said this whale move was likely internal repositioning and not a sale and that small traders bought the dip.

In other words, the 800M DOGE whale move coincided with a bullish break to $0.186 and above. The consensus was that the whale was just reshuffling (moving between wallets) and retail bulls took it as a buy signal.

Summary Table for Crypto Whale Transactions From Mayy 11 – May 16

Below is a table providing an adequate summary to this weeks’s whale moves.

Market Impact and Trends

The net result of these whale moves was a mix of bullish and bearish signals in a bullish crypto market. The overall period saw big coins go up. Whale activity showed volatility:

Accumulation vs. Sell-Off: Many whales seemed to be accumulating. Notably the 7,999 BTC moved off Coinbase and 68.7M ADA withdrawn from exchanges are classic bullish signals (coins going into cold wallets). The 807M DOGE move coincided with a bullish breakout. Some transfers were selling: 29.6M XRP and 2,000 ETH deposited to Coinbase and the Solana unstaking (103K SOL) was seen as a sell signal. Overall whales were locking in gains.

Short-term Reactions: In the short term, markets held strong. Bitcoin shrugged off the 900 BTC deposit and was near $103K. ETH went up above $2,600 despite whale flows; the big Coinbase deposit (129K ETH) raised eyebrows but ETH was up overall this week.

XRP pulled back a bit after the 29M inflow and SOL went down. DOGE went up. Coindoo mentioned the possibility of coordinated or regular rebalancing in Coinbase wallets. In short some big drops and spikes in price were due to these flows but the rally continued.

These whale moves happened in a bigger crypto bull market. Over the week, Bitcoin went above $ 100 K+, Ethereum was near $2.6K, and many alts went up. Whales often lead or amplify these moves. The on-chain data showed inflows of capital: e.g. the Abraxas fund withdrew ~278K ETH from exchanges, accumulating into the rally.

New ETH whales borrowing and buying is a good sign. But the simultaneous record flows into exchanges (XRP, ADA deposits) is cautionary. Overall market participants saw these moves as overheated market rather than a crash,  a “whale watch” phenomenon often seen in bull runs.

Conclusion: What These Whale Moves Mean

The whale activity between May 11 and 16, 2025 shows a market in motion, where big holders are taking profits and loading up for the long term. Across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and altcoins like ADA, XRP, and DOGE, large transfers give us a peek into high-stakes strategies: exits, rebalancing, accumulation, and leverage.

Some transactions like BTC and ETH outflows or DOGE wallet reshuffles are bullish accumulation, others like SOL and XRP exchange deposits, are taking profits. We watch whales not for absolute signals, but for shifts in balance, between risk and reward, sell pressure and holding conviction.

Glossary

Whale: A very large cryptocurrency investor or wallet that holds enough coins to move the market when they buy or sell. Whales make large transfers, like millions of dollars worth of BTC or ETH, and are tracked by services like Whale Alert.

CEX (Centralized Exchange): A cryptocurrency trading platform run by a company (like Binance or Coinbase). Deposits to a CEX mean sell, withdrawals mean hold.

On-chain Transfer: A cryptocurrency transaction recorded on the blockchain. For example, “transferred from unknown wallet to #Coinbase” means a ledger entry moved coins between those addresses.

Unstaking: The act of withdrawing cryptocurrency from a staking or lending contract (e.g. Solana’s staking). Unstaking large amounts (like 103,040 SOL above) releases tokens to be liquid, often a precursor to selling.

Leverage & Liquidation: Some traders borrow funds (leverage) to buy crypto. If the price moves too much their collateral can be forced to sell (liquidated). The 8,613 ETH leveraged buy had a “health factor” of 1.86, meaning a ~47% price drop would liquidate the position.

FAQ

What does a big crypto whale move mean for crypto prices?

If a whale moves coins to an exchange, it usually means selling, so prices may drop. If coins move away from an exchange (to a personal wallet or custody), it usually means storing/holding, which is bullish. For example, the ~$819M BTC leaving Coinbase on May 13 was seen as a bullish accumulation move.

Why did Dogecoin go up 7.6% after a whale moved $150M of DOGE?

Crypto analysts thought the whale was just shuffling holdings, not selling. Small traders interpreted it as bullish, so it was a big volume and price pop. Whales can sometimes spark FOMO (fear of missing out) rallies if traders think they’re accumulating.

What is “Ceffu” in the ETH transfer context?

“Ceffu” is the name of Coinbase’s institutional custody service. The 24,496 ETH sent there on May 16 was effectively a deposit into Coinbase. It’s like sending to Coinbase, but via their custodian entity. So it’s not a random wallet, it means $63.8M worth of ETH moved into Coinbase’s custody.

Are these crypto whale activities normal?

Big transfers happen all the time, but the size and concentration here might be quite unusual. The middle of May was an extreme bull market. Big whales moved billions, but the market held up. Analysts say these are strategic portfolio shifts by big players, either rebalancing or positioning for more price moves.

Sources

Binance

Whalealert

Cryptorank

TradingView

Coindoo

Beincrypto

Thetradable