Crypto Whales Bet on Altcoins with Built-in Buyers Amidst Market Volatility

Crypto whales have been buying three altcoins in September 2026, a month where Bitcoin has historically closed lower. Uniswap (UNI) saw its holdings increase by 257,777 tokens worth around $1.62 million, with fresh wallets taking in $2.91 million and exchange balances falling by 351,274 UNI. This comes after UNI's price rose 9% in the last 24 hours and 47% on the week.

Nansen-labelled crypto whale wallets lifted UNI holdings from 3.20 million to 3.46 million on September 2. The cohort grew from eight wallets to nine, with a new large holder joining. Usage backs the move, with Uniswap handling $2.69 billion in daily volume and $10.7 million in fees. This feeds the UNI burn mechanism approved last December, removing UNI from circulation.

Orca (ORCA) is another altcoin being bought by whales, with labelled crypto whale balances rising 25.4% to 201,097 ORCA. Existing holders did the buying, while exchanges lost $263,753 of ORCA in 24 hours. The token fell 1.3%, but retail and whales seem unified on this one.

Pump.fun (PUMP) is the most disputed altcoin, with whale balances rising 62.75 million tokens worth about $272,000 while the price fell 3.5%. Smart traders sold $475,249, top-profit wallets sold $1.80 million, and exchange flow flipped from an outflow to an inflow. Pump.fun has a built-in buyer in the form of its own company, which spends half of everything it earns buying PUMP on the open market and destroying it.