Whales vs. Minnows: How Crypto’s 1% Steer the Market While Retail Holds the Bag
Crypto’s dirty little secret? The big players write the rules—and the rest of us pay the price.
## The Illusion of Decentralization
Blockchain promised democracy, but Bitcoin’s top 2% of wallets control 95% of supply. Meet the new bosses—same as the old bosses, just with fancier buzzwords.
## OTC Markets: Where Whales Trade in the Dark
Want to move $50M in BTC without moving the market? Institutional over-the-counter desks laugh at your puny Coinbase order book. Retail gets front-run while VIPs get private liquidity.
## VC Money: The Invisible Hand That Codes
That ’grassroots’ Layer 2 project? Check the cap table—three Sand Hill Road firms own 40% of the tokens. Protocol governance gets decided before the GitHub repo goes public.
## The Cynic’s Take
Funny how crypto’s anti-bank revolution now has JPMorgan alumni running ’decentralized’ foundations—complete with Cayman Island subsidiaries and private jet meetups. The more things change...
How the Rich Can Shape Crypto’s Future
Since Trump took major steps in positioning the U.S. at the forefront of the crypto revolution, the network has witnessed more institutional adoption and the emergence of supportive policies. Bitcoin is now placed alongside traditional reserves like gold and oil as long-term strategic assets.
Large institutions and ultra-wealthy individuals have been buying BTC, and even the U.S. will no longer sell анъ obtained via legal forfeitures. At the state level, governments are passing laws to allow the use of public funds to buy cryptocurrencies and precious metals. One example is New Hampshire.
In the global corporate sector, Bitcoin-holding companies like the business intelligence entity Strategy and the Japanese hospitality firm Metaplanet have been increasing their BTC bags non-stop. Strategy recently expanded its BTC holdings with a $1.34 billion purchase, while Metaplanet acquired an additional $126 million worth of assets. These firms keep buying BTC regardless of the market’s state.
On the other hand, retail investors have a pattern of taking profits during market rallies. Santiment says this leads to a redistribution of BTC holdings toward institutional buyers and highlights the growing influence of large-scale investors.
Small Fish in a Big Pond
According to Santiment, most retail traders, including miners, cannot resist the urge to take profits to handle life expenses during market rallies. However, the ultra-wealthy can afford to continue to hold and accumulate coins over the long term.
Currently, wallets holding less than $1 million in BTC (less than 10 BTC) account for just 17.5% of the total coins in circulation. Those having at least 10 BTC own over 82% of the supply.
Santiment said addresses holding 10-100 BTC are classified as small institutional investors, while those holding 10-10,000 bitcoins belong to large institutions and liquidity providers. The latter cohort has more than two-thirds of all BTC in circulation. Hence, it is evident that “long-term holders with DEEP pockets” are taking control of the market.
