The term “whale” is frequently used to describe the big money Bitcoin players that show their hand in the Bitcoin market. The ocean as a metaphor for the market is apt, since one can then extend it to include the big fish and the small fish; sharks; rallies as feeding frenzies; waves as market moves; and so forth. It may be, however, that the term “whale” has been applied to the wrong class of investor because the players described below are truly the biggest creatures in the ocean.


They show themselves in the exchanges with orders of 1000 BTC, every now and again, and the common perception seems to be that the orderbook “whales” are the heavyweight players who move the market and can manipulate price if they so desire. However, this view is inaccurate.

The fact is that there are even bigger players than the so-called whales, who do not engage in the Bitcoin market via the dinky web interfaces the exchanges offer us, the “retail market” (small fish).

 



If any reader thinks that this sounds incredible, be assured that this is not my proposal of how I think it works, it’s standard hedge fund practice. Large banks, the market makers for most of the Forex market, have teams of traders dedicated to doing just this via trade plans that last anywhere from a day to a few weeks.

The Bitcoin market has several characteristics that make it ideal for high risk institutional investors like hedge funds:

Small market capitalization
Relatively naive participants
No bank competitors
No regulation
The institutions listed at the top of the article have apparently become active in the Bitcoin market during the course of the past two years. While there is no sense in speaking of collusion, it seems only rational that large players should (at least, sometimes) coordinate their actions. Given that there are community members who are known to hold sizable amounts of Bitcoin, one could imagine that they would reasonably discuss and align their interests with other potential market movers.

So, it’s not about that 1000 BTC order you see in the exchange orderbook, or the 50 BTC that went through Dell’s online retail store today. The BTC market, although high-risk and based on an innovation that’s difficult to fathom, is a speculator’s wildest dream come true. All the time while it is adjusting downwards, it’s because the largest players are herding the bait-ball.

As for the small Bitcoin fish it’s most beneficial to just swim with the Bitcoin whale and swim away when the mood starts getting frenzied near the surface. Knowing what time it is, is the challenge.![bitcoin-logo-gold.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPUx7pte8X3JLvvcBfTFw5JpzwZeWpLUrwPUGnbobjJxe/bitcoin-logo-gold.png)