Bitcoin Reacts Quicker to Whale Transfers Than Ethereum
A recent study published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has found significant differences in how Bitcoin and Ethereum respond to large crypto transfers.
The working paper, which analyzed data through the end of 2025, matched public notifications from Whale Alert with on-chain transactions for BTC, ETH, and WBTC (Wrapped Bitcoin).
A 'whale wallet' was defined as a wallet that made at least one transfer worth more than $50 million, excluding large wallets associated with exchanges or smart contracts.
The study found that non-whale Bitcoin wallets became active within 15 minutes of an alert, trading in the direction of the alerted whale most strongly. In contrast, Ethereum participation remained relatively stable.
For small and medium-sized wallet groups, buy participation increased by 14.81% and 23.72%, respectively, after a whale bought, while sell participation rose by 12.95% and 29.52% following a whale sell.