What Altcoins are Crypto Whales Buying this Week?

The crypto market made a positive start to July 2023 as the industry market capitalization soared above $1.2 trillion. As Bitcoin Dominance reduces, what altcoins are crypto whales buying in July? 

BTC Dominance (BTC.D) has dropped 1% to 51.2% this week as some prominent altcoins began to climb the top gainers’ chart. Amid the altcoin market rally, crypto whales have been paying close attention to these three altcoins this week. 

Crypto Whales Are Keeping the AAVE Flag Flying 

AAVE is the native token of the prominent Aave DeFi protocol. The AAVE platform enables users to borrow and lend a wide range of crypto assets. 

The recent crypto rally has trigged a DeFi boom. And as one of the leading DeFi lending platforms, it is no surprise that whale investors have been stocking up on AAVE tokens this week. 

The chart below shows that whales holding 1 million to 10 million BCH coins have increased their holdings since June 22. Remarkably, between June 23 and July 5, they bought a whopping 190,000 AAVE tokens. 

At the current market value of $74, the fresh investment made by the whales is worth roughly $14 million. Such a large inflow of funds within a short period is an indication of confidence that AAVE price will likely deliver more gains in July. 

Whales Ape-In as MAKER DAO Diversifies From USDC  

On-chain data from Santiment shows that crypto whales have been buying MKR this week. Shows as the DAI stablecoin issuer, MakerDAO further divested collaterals away from USDC. 

As of January 2023, about $2.4 billion of USDC was locked in the PSM –a critical component of MakerDAO’s architecture that enables users to deposit USDC and mint DAI at a 1:1 ratio. But according to DeFiLlama data, the figure has shrunk to around $520 million. This indicates a 78% decline in the amount of USDC directly used to back the DAI stablecoin. 

Specifically, crypto whales have responded to this development by filling up their MKR bags. As seen below, between June 21 and July 5, the MKR whales holding 10,000 to 100,000 coins have added 23,000 MKR to their holdings. At the current price of about $1,000, the new investment is worth over $23 million. 

Due to the whale accumulation frenzy, MRK price has gained 50% this week, reaching a new 2023 peak of $1,000. Given the recent SEC FUD surrounding Coinbase and the exchanges’ close affiliation with USDC, Maker (MKR) whale investors have received this divestment well. 

Compound Finance (COMP) Hits Double-Digit Gains in Two Consecutive Weeks

Furthermore, Compound Finance (COMP) continued its winning streak in July after scoring 90% in the last week of June 2023. On-chain data shows that crypto whales buying COMP have played a pivotal role in driving the token toward its second-consecutive week of double-digit gains.  

Between June 30 and July 5, the cluster of crypto whales holding 100,000 to 1 million COMP bought an additional 1.08 million tokens.  

This intense level of whale activity on Compound Finance has seen the price nearly triple from its recent low on June 11. And with the whales showing no signs of slowing down, other retail investors could also keep buying into the rally. 

In summary, bullish sentiment among large institutional investors is pivotal to the price performance of any cryptocurrency project. Hence, if the crypto whales’ buying frenzy continues, AAVE (AAVE), Maker (MKR) and, Compound (COMP), Litecoin (LTC) are likely to rally in July 2023.