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<ul>
 <li><em>Whale movements around major cryptocurrencies caused an upset.</em></li>
 <li><em>Retail interest ended up growing for BTC but waning for ETH and XRP.</em></li>
</ul>
<p>The recent surge in cryptocurrency prices, marking a period of optimism in the crypto sector, took a downturn, and whales appear to be at the center of these market events.</p>
<h4>Whales make moves</h4>
<p>Whale behavior played a significant role in the decline of major cryptocurrencies. Notably, a whale deposited a substantial 3,100 <a href="https://ambcrypto.com/search/bitcoin" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="internal">Bitcoin [BTC]</a> worth $140M into <a href="https://ambcrypto.com/search/bnb" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="internal">Binance [BNB]</a> just before the market crash.</p>
<p>The 3,100 BTC, initially withdrawn from HTX on the 6th of October 2022 for $20,000, resulted in a staggering profit of $78M (+126%).</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
 <p lang="en" dir="ltr">We noticed that a whale deposited 3,100 <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24BTC&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$BTC</a>($140M) to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Binance?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">#Binance</a> yesterday before the market crashed.</p>
 <p>The 3,100 <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24BTC&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$BTC</a> was withdrawn from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HTX?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">#HTX</a> on October 6, 2022, when the price was $20,000.</p>
 <p>The profit is ~$78M (+126%)!<a href="https://t.co/P3SxXKMWiZ" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://t.co/P3SxXKMWiZ</a> <a href="https://t.co/hQ7HbR0NCv" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">pic.twitter.com/hQ7HbR0NCv</a></p>
 <p>— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) <a href="https://twitter.com/lookonchain/status/1742749839497351367?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">January 4, 2024</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>However, not all whales experienced positive outcomes. Coinglass’ data revealed that a long order amounting to $14.26M faced liquidation on Huobi.</p>
<h4>A tale of profits and losses</h4>
<p>Despite the challenges, some whales saw the declining prices as an opportunity. Post the BTC/ETH plunge, two whale wallets strategically purchased <a href="https://ambcrypto.com/search/wbtc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="internal">Wrapped Bitcoin [WBTC]</a> and <a href="https://ambcrypto.com/search/ethereum" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="internal">Ethereum [ETH]</a> at the market bottom.</p>
<p>For instance, wallet 0x8B20 invested 1.5M <a href="https://ambcrypto.com/search/usdc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="internal">USD Coin [USDC]</a> to acquire 35.18 WBTC at $42,641 and spent an additional 1.5M USDC to purchase 674.18 ETH at $2,225.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
 <p lang="en" dir="ltr">After the BTC/ETH plummeted, 2 whale wallets bought <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24WBTC&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$WBTC</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24ETH&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$ETH</a> at the bottom.</p>
 <p>0x8B20 spent 1.5M <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24USDC&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$USDC</a> to buy 35.18 <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24WBTC&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$WBTC</a> at $42,641 and spent 1.5M <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24USDC&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$USDC</a> to buy 674.18 <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24ETH&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$ETH</a> at $2,225.<a href="https://t.co/gKzuJwCPu8" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://t.co/gKzuJwCPu8</a></p>
 <p>0x4198 spent 1.5M <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24USDC&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$USDC</a> to buy 35.12 <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24WBTC&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$WBTC</a> at $42,708 and spent… <a href="https://t.co/ftmQKBbtXR" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">pic.twitter.com/ftmQKBbtXR</a></p>
 <p>— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) <a href="https://twitter.com/lookonchain/status/1742535642565968213?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">January 3, 2024</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>This erratic whale behavior raised concerns about its impact on both BTC and ETH. The unpredictable nature of whales introduces volatility, influencing market sentiment and potentially contributing to further price fluctuations.</p>
<p>Interestingly, despite the turbulence caused by whales, retail interest in BTC had seen growth. However, if whales continue with their bearish behavior, the price may plummet even further, which could impact these retail investors negatively.</p>
<div id="attachment_362055" style="width: 100%" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://statics.ambcrypto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Bitcoin-BTC-15.37.05-04-Jan-2024.png" data-wpel-link="internal" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-362055" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-362055" src="https://statics.ambcrypto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Bitcoin-BTC-15.37.05-04-Jan-2024.png" alt="" width="2560" height="867" srcset="https://statics.ambcrypto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Bitcoin-BTC-15.37.05-04-Jan-2024.png 2560w, https://statics.ambcrypto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Bitcoin-BTC-15.37.05-04-Jan-2024-300x102.png 300w, https://statics.ambcrypto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Bitcoin-BTC-15.37.05-04-Jan-2024-1024x347.png 1024w, https://statics.ambcrypto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Bitcoin-BTC-15.37.05-04-Jan-2024-768x260.png 768w, https://statics.ambcrypto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Bitcoin-BTC-15.37.05-04-Jan-2024-1536x520.png 1536w, https://statics.ambcrypto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Bitcoin-BTC-15.37.05-04-Jan-2024-2048x693.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"></a>
 <p id="caption-attachment-362055" class="wp-caption-text">Source: Santiment</p>
</div>
<p>On the contrary, retail interest in ETH witnessed a decline over the past few weeks. Regardless, the chances of these retail investors being vulnerable to sudden whale movements declined.</p>
<p>An exodus of both retail and whale investors could spell trouble for ETH going forward.</p>
<p>Source: SantimentIn addition to ETH, XRP also faced challenges in the retail space. Recent data indicated a significant drop in retail interest towards XRP at press time, accompanied by a notable 9% decline in its price.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Read&nbsp;<a href="https://ambcrypto.com/predictions/bitcoin-price-prediction" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="internal">Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price Prediction</a>&nbsp;2023-24</p>
<p>However, despite the diminishing retail interest, the trading volume of XRP experienced a noticeable spike, suggesting a potential disconnect between investor sentiment and trading activity.</p>
<div id="attachment_362058" style="width: 100%" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://statics.ambcrypto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/XRP-Ledger-XRP-15.40.05-04-Jan-2024.png" data-wpel-link="internal" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-362058" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-362058" src="https://statics.ambcrypto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/XRP-Ledger-XRP-15.40.05-04-Jan-2024.png" alt="" width="3840" height="1300" srcset="https://statics.ambcrypto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/XRP-Ledger-XRP-15.40.05-04-Jan-2024.png 2560w, https://statics.ambcrypto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/XRP-Ledger-XRP-15.40.05-04-Jan-2024-300x102.png 300w, https://statics.ambcrypto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/XRP-Ledger-XRP-15.40.05-04-Jan-2024-1024x347.png 1024w, https://statics.ambcrypto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/XRP-Ledger-XRP-15.40.05-04-Jan-2024-768x260.png 768w, https://statics.ambcrypto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/XRP-Ledger-XRP-15.40.05-04-Jan-2024-1536x520.png 1536w, https://statics.ambcrypto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/XRP-Ledger-XRP-15.40.05-04-Jan-2024-2048x693.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 3840px) 100vw, 3840px"></a>
 <p id="caption-attachment-362058" class="wp-caption-text">Source: Santiment</p>
</div>
<p>As of press time, BTC was trading at $42,544.09, reflecting a decline of -1.13%. Simultaneously, ETH was priced at $2,222.61, indicating a substantial drop of -6.45% in the last 24 hours.</p>

How BTC, ETH, XRP bore the brunt of panic selling

AMBCrypto

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