Following Israel’s airstrikes on Iran, crypto markets have sharply declined. Amid the turbulence, Santiment data shows a spike in large wallet activity across altcoins like Shiba Inu, Compound, and UMA.
Such movements could potentially indicate that whales may be repositioning as the broader market struggles to find stability.
Whale Accumulation
Whale activity across several mid- and low-cap cryptocurrencies has surged in recent days, indicating potential price trend reversals, both upward and downward. In its latest report, Santiment explained that spikes in high-value transactions suggest whales may be strategically accumulating or offloading assets.
Among tokens showing signs of accumulation, Shiba Inu, Ankr, and LCX have each seen large upticks in whale transactions that correlate with price gains or potential recoveries.
Shiba Inu (SHIB), the second-largest meme coin by market cap, recorded 527 whale transactions on June 5, the highest single-day spike in five months. This activity coincided with a modest price increase, leading Santiment to believe that it could be the early phase of a larger rally, especially as the transaction spike occurred while prices were falling.
Similarly, Ankr (ANKR), a decentralized infrastructure platform, saw eight $100,000+ transactions on June 8, which follows a 23% decline over the past month. While largely ignored recently, previous whale spikes have often preceded price rebounds.
Meanwhile, LCX, the utility token for the Liechtenstein Cryptoassets Exchange, logged 12 large whale transfers on June 9, the highest since February. After falling 31% from its April peak, the token has since gained 8%, which prompted speculation about renewed investor interest due to its regulatory positioning and low market cap.
Whale Dumping
On the flip side, Santiment has identified signs of whale dumping in assets such as SPX6900, Compound (COMP), and UMA. SPX6900, a satirical meme coin that has surged 486% in three months, recorded 134 large transactions on June 9, likely pointing to profit-taking by whales and a potential local top.
Similarly, Compound, a DeFi token that allows users to earn interest on crypto deposits, saw its highest whale transaction count since April 1, with 157 transfers on June 9. This comes amid a double-digit monthly price surge, which the crypto analytic firm notes may suggest overbought conditions in the short term.
UMA, a platform for creating synthetic assets without real-time price feeds, also raised red flags. It saw 27 whale transactions on June 8, the most in 2025, just as its price soared 52% from June 5-8. The timing implies coordinated profit-taking. Abrupt increases in high-value transactions, particularly after rapid price gains, can be early indicators of local market tops and potential pullbacks.
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