Altcoin whales were buying several well-established cryptocurrencies without hesitation during the recent declines. On-chain analysis shows that these investors are especially waiting for bottom prices.
Altcoin whales are hoarding these cryptocurrencies at discounted prices
Polygon (MATIC)
The rise of competing L2s such as Base and Optimism has caused demand for MATIC to decline in recent months. Additionally, when Binance announced the removal of MATIC from the NFT Marketplace, the altcoin price fell below $0.49 for the first time since May 2022.
However, this week, large purchases by a group of whales allowed MATIC to recover to $0.52. On-chain data shows that whales holding 10 million 1 billion MATIC have purchased 17 million new altcoins since the price of MATIC fell below $0.53 on September 10.
The chart above shows that whales are intensifying buying pressure as MATIC price falls to historic lows around $0.50. At the current price of $0.52, the newly purchased 17 million MATIC is worth approximately $9 million. However, the coming weeks will show whether the whales will make a profit or a loss.
Litecoin (LTC)
The price of Litecoin (LTC) was in free fall ahead of the halving on August 2. Since the halving, LTC miners and investors have continued to increase selling pressure. But as LTC fell to a 2023 low of $58 this week, altcoin whales are taking advantage of discounted prices to expand their purses.
The Santiment chart below shows that whales holding 100,000 to 1 million LTC intensified buying pressure as the price reached $58 on September 12. Remarkably, between September 11 and September 14, they added 55,000 LTC to their balance at a discounted price.
LTC price is currently hovering around $63. Meanwhile, the value of 55,000 altcoins acquired in the last 3 days is now 3.5 million dollars. With such a large inflow of funds, altcoin whales appear to be preventing Litecoin from reversing towards $50, which was last seen during the FTX crash in November 2022.
Apecoin (APE)
Apecoin (APE) is the native altcoin that forms the basis of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) ecosystem. This week it fell to an all-time low of $1.12. Like Polygon and Litecoin, a cluster of millionaire altcoin whales have moved to accumulate APE.
Santiment data reveals that investors with 1 to 10 million Apecoin balances collectively increased their altcoin reserves by an additional 4.65 million tokens between September 10 and September 14.
Apecoin prices are still hovering around $1.16. Meanwhile, the new whale inflow of $4.65 million appears to have left other investors completely unimpressed. However, Apecoin is now further away from going to zero as initially feared. Additionally, the results of the ongoing Apecoin community offerings will likely influence price movements in the coming weeks.
XRP (XRP) faces massive whale sell-off due to FTX fear
XRP, among other major altcoin projects, has shown resilience despite FTX’s ongoing lawsuit, which has many investors spooked by concerns of a possible selloff. Reports that FTX was preparing to sell billions of dollars worth of crypto have dampened investors’ appetite for risk betting. Significantly, FTX reportedly holds approximately $119 million worth of XRP.
🚨NEW: @FTX_Official has received court approval to liquidate its #crypto assets.
— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) September 13, 2023
cryptokoin.comAs we reported, the US court allowed the bankrupt exchange to empty its altcoin reserves.
