Bitcoin Traders React Faster to Whale Alerts Than Ethereum Users
A recent working paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has shed light on how Bitcoin and Ethereum traders respond to large crypto transfers. The study, which analyzed data up to 2025, found that public notifications of large crypto transfers were followed by sharply different trading activity on the two networks.
According to the research, non-whale Bitcoin wallets became active and traded in the direction of the alerted whale's transaction most strongly during the first 15 minutes. In contrast, Ethereum participation remained relatively stable across wallet groups, with only a slight increase in same-direction activity among large non-whale sellers.
The study also found that Bitcoin's response to whale alerts peaked within 15 minutes, while Ethereum's volatility actually decreased after alerts. The authors attribute the difference between the two networks to market structure, suggesting that Ethereum's activity often runs through exchanges and layer-2 venues where transactions can be aggregated into larger balance transfers.
The study is observational in nature and does not imply causation, but rather establishes patterns in wallet activity and volatility around public alerts. The authors emphasize that wallet-size groups are transaction-based proxies and may not accurately reflect the identities of owners or their control over multiple addresses.