Flows

To sell a large amount of crypto, a whale usually has to move it onto an exchange first. So when BTC or ETH flows heavily onto exchanges on net, it can mean big holders are getting into position to sell. That is the sell-pressure side of the chart. For how this board classifies a transfer, and what a net figure can and cannot support, see how to read on-chain flow data.

Coins withdrawn from an exchange usually head to self-custody: wallets the holder controls directly, often cold storage. Money tends to go there to sit, so net outflow historically reads as accumulation. That is the other side. If you want the mechanics of how that custody actually works, we explain it in cold storage, explained.

Stablecoins like USDT and USDC are crypto's dry powder. When they flood onto exchanges, buyers may be staging money for purchases; when they leave, that buying power is stepping out of the arena. That is why we score them separately from volatile assets.

Whales move money for many reasons: custody rotations, transfers between their own wallets, over-the-counter deals. Only moves large enough for Whale Alert to post publicly (roughly $50M and up) appear here, and exchanges are identified by name. Treat this board as context for the news above it, never as a trade signal on its own.