Five Crypto Whales To Follow For Smart Trading In 2025

Crypto markets are volatile, unpredictable, and often influenced by the biggest players — commonly known as whales. These are individuals or entities holding significant amounts of cryptocurrency, capable of influencing price trends with a single transaction. 

While most retail traders rely on social media or market sentiment, smart traders look on-chain to follow whales who consistently outperform the market.

In this guide, we highlight five whales worth watching in 2025. Each has a history of strategic altcoin accumulation, active participation in DeFi, and transparent on-chain activity. We’ll also break down how to track these wallets and build a trading strategy around their behavior.

Why follow crypto whales?

Whales often move early into emerging narratives. Whether it’s AI tokens, ETH staking derivatives, or meme coins, these investors buy assets long before retail hype kicks in. By analyzing their on-chain movements, you can:

• Identify altcoins before they rally.
• Gauge long-term confidence in a project.
• Avoid panic selling during dips.

Tracking whales isn’t a guaranteed strategy, but it adds data-driven insight to your trading decisions.

Whale 1: Smart DEX Trader

Wallet: 0x171c53…4282

This whale is known for accumulating liquid staking tokens like ezETH and stETH. In mid-2024, they swapped over 1,800 ETH for ezETH — signaling confidence in ETH-yield strategies.

Key behaviors

• Swaps ETH for yield-bearing tokens during market dips.
• Participates in staking and DeFi protocols.
• Rarely sells, indicating a long-term position.

What to track

• New token acquisitions, especially ETH derivatives.
• Inflows into DeFi protocols like Lido, Swell, or Pendle.

Smart traders watch this wallet to understand ETH yield sentiment. Large moves into LSTs often hint at upcoming price stability or upward momentum.

Whale 2: ThetaTfuel

Wallet: 0xdf89a6…5133

ThetaTfuel is a rotation trader who moves between hot altcoin narratives. In late 2023, they accumulated AI tokens like FET and AGIX early and exited after 3–5× gains. In 2024, they shifted into Fantom, riding the Layer-1 revival.

Key behaviors

• Accumulates altcoins before narrative breakouts.
• Rotates capital between sectors (AI, Layer-1s, DeFi).
• Times exits after major rallies.

What to track

• Changes in token holdings.
• Entry prices and accumulation ranges.
• Movement from stablecoins into new tokens.

This whale is useful for identifying emerging trends. If they’re suddenly buying a token that isn’t yet in the headlines, it may be the next narrative play.

Whale 3: Delphi Digital

Wallets: 0x6bcb60…df65 and 0xa137c8…c439

Delphi Digital is a research-driven investment firm with a public on-chain presence. In 2024, they accumulated large amounts of ENA, the token powering Ethena’s synthetic stablecoin.

Key behaviors

• Invests in alignment with research reports.
• Participates in governance and liquidity provisioning.
• Enters early into DeFi projects.

What to track

• New token inflows into Delphi wallets.
• ENA staking and liquidity positions.
• Wallet-to-wallet transfers across new protocols.

Delphi wallets reflect long-term conviction in innovative DeFi models. Watching these can offer early signals of institutional-level interest.

Whale 4: JamesWynnReal

Wallet: 0x8589cd…aad7

This pseudonymous hyperliquid whale is a meme coin accumulator. Although he became famous for long and short trading Bitcoin, he’s also known for holding meme coins like PEPE, MOONPIG, and ANDY through volatility.

His Bitcoin trades showed losses recently, but JamesWynnReal has realized over $500,000 in short-term profits on meme coins, while still sitting on millions in unrealized gains.

Key behaviors

• Buys meme tokens early and holds.
• Avoids panic selling during downturns.
• Occasionally signals buys publicly.

What to track

• New token entries, especially via Uniswap.
• Large purchases of meme tokens.
• Portfolio concentration in small-cap coins.

For meme-focused traders, this wallet is a sentiment barometer. If it’s buying something obscure, a meme rally may be brewing.

Whale 5: Mechanism Capital

Wallet: 0xb58487…ce9

Mechanism Capital actively trades political and hype-driven tokens. In early 2024, they bought hundreds of thousands of TRUMP and ZYN tokens, betting on attention-fueled rallies.

Key behaviors

• Targets meme coins linked to trending topics.
• Builds large positions before public attention peaks.
• Buys multiple meme tokens in the same narrative cluster.

What to track

• Bulk purchases of theme-based tokens.
• Rotation between meme categories.
• Early-stage deposits into new meme pools.

This whale’s behavior reflects short-to-mid-term narrative trades. For traders focused on volatility and hype, this wallet offers sharp timing cues.

How to track crypto whales step-by-step

Tracking whales is accessible with free tools like Etherscan, Arkham, and Nansen. Here’s how beginners can get started:

Step 1: Use Etherscan

• Go to etherscan.io or Nansen.ai (paid subscription needed).
• Paste a wallet address from one of the whales above.
• Review ‘ERC-20 token transactions’ and internal transfers.
• Look at token balances and transaction history.

Step 2: Set alerts on Arkham or Nansen

• Create a free account.
• Input whale addresses to your watchlist.
• Set alerts for large swaps, deposits, or withdrawals.

Step 3: Analyze timing and token types

• Look at when the whale bought a token.
• Check how long they held it before selling.
• Compare against price charts to spot patterns.

Metrics to track

• Token buy/sell volume.
• Entry and exit prices.
• Diversification across DeFi protocols.
• Stablecoin inflows (often signal readiness to buy).

How to build a strategy based on whale activity

Following whales isn’t about copying every trade — it’s about building context. Use their behavior to:

1. Spot early trends

If multiple whales move into an unknown token, it may be worth researching. This often happens weeks before retail traders hear about it.

2. Confirm conviction

When whales buy during market dips, it suggests long-term confidence. Their buys can give you reassurance to hold.

3. Time exits

If a whale starts unloading a token, especially after a long holding period, it might signal the end of a narrative cycle.

4. Learn diversification

Whales often spread risk. They’ll buy several tokens in the same theme. Use this strategy to avoid overexposure to one asset.

5. Use discretion

Never blindly follow. Always DYOR (Do Your Own Research). Whales sometimes lose too.

Final thoughts

Whale tracking adds an extra layer of insight to your crypto trading strategy. By watching what experienced on-chain traders are doing, you can make better-informed decisions, manage risk, and spot trends earlier.

Start small — track a few addresses, compare their moves to market events, and test how well their strategies align with your goals. Over time, you’ll build an instinct for interpreting whale behavior and positioning accordingly.

1. 01.

   What does smart money mean in crypto?

   

   Smart money refers to capital controlled by experienced or informed investors — such as funds, institutions, or early adopters — who make data-driven, strategic decisions. In crypto, it often includes whales and professional traders whose actions signal confidence or caution.

2. 02.

   Is following crypto whales a good strategy?

   

   Following crypto whales can be a useful strategy when combined with your own research. Their on-chain activity can reveal early trends and strong conviction plays, but blindly copying trades without context carries risk. Use whale behavior as a signal, not a blueprint.