People & supply · 6 min read · Live · two views

What are Bitcoin whales, and are they buying?

One-minute answer: A Bitcoin whale is an informal name for a very large trader or holder. SafuTrading shows two different things: live exchange trades of $250,000 or more, and blockchain addresses holding 1,000 to 10,000 BTC.

What it actually means

Whale Sonar watches large trades that actually execute on Binance and Coinbase. It tells you whether large market buys or sells are hitting those venues right now. It does not watch private wallets moving coins from one address to another.

The whale net-position chart uses the Bitcoin blockchain instead. It compares the coins held by addresses in the 1,000-to-10,000 BTC band today with the same total 30 completed days earlier. Above zero means that address band holds more; below zero means it holds less.

What to look for

Large buys on Whale Sonar — Big traders are accepting the current asking price on the two tracked exchanges.
Large sells on Whale Sonar — Big traders are accepting the current bid price on those exchanges.
Positive 30-day whale position — Addresses holding 1,000 to 10,000 BTC gained coins over the last 30 completed days.
The two disagree — That is possible. Live trading pressure measures minutes and hours; wallet-band change measures a completed month.

Worked example

If Whale Sonar records $12 million of large buys in one hour while the 30-day whale position is −8,000 BTC, the short-term and monthly views disagree. Large traders bought during that hour, but whale-sized addresses still released 8,000 BTC over the completed month.

What this cannot tell you

One owner can control many addresses, and one exchange can control one address for many customers. Address counts are not people counts.
Moving coins across the 1,000 BTC or 10,000 BTC boundary can change the band without a market trade.
Whale Sonar covers Binance and Coinbase exchange trades, not every venue and not blockchain transfers.

Data source

SafuTrading's own large-trade recorder for Binance and Coinbase, plus SafuTrading's Bitcoin-node address-band index.

Open Whale Sonar — Live Binance and Coinbase Bitcoin trades worth $250,000 or more.