With Bitcoin and the broader crypto markets retracting their values, whales’ attention has shifted to certain altcoins that are attracting their interest.
Arbitrum (ARB) and Optimism (OP) are currently gaining increased popularity among large holders, according to a crypto analyst known as the Data Nerd on the X platform.
Whales are accumulating Arbitrum and Optimism tokens. According to data from the crypto on-chain tracker, a whale withdrew 10 million ARB tokens (worth $7.61 million) and 2 million OP coins from Binance today. The crypto analyst identified the wallet address belonging to the crypto trading firm Wintermute.
Data shows that the whale now holds 17.2 million Arbitrum tokens (worth $13.13 million) and 2.055 million Optimism tokens (valued at $3.86 million) in their wallet.
This action by the trader indicates that the interest in ARB and OP has increased recently, with whales accumulating the tokens to reposition their holdings.
On December 20, whales increased their buying spree on Arbitrum due to a price reduction triggered by the recent action by the Fed in the global markets. The financial regulator reduced lending rates but hinted at lesser cuts next year, causing risky assets like stocks and digital assets to retract their values.
As a result, savvy traders intensified their purchasing frenzy, with many buying over 40 million Arbitrum tokens over the previous week. Such actions are usually associated with whales who acquire tokens in millions. Meanwhile, big investors have also continued to accumulate Optimism. Recent data from Santiment indicates a significant increase in wallet balances possessing at least 10 million OP tokens.
Whales’ activities continue to capture the attention of market participants, as their bold actions occur when most digital assets are cooling down. However, part of the reason for whales reviving their interest in ARB and OP is that these layer-2 scaling solutions provide more affordable gas fees and quicker transactions than Ethereum’s protocol. This makes them appealing to developers and users. Generally, big investors purchasing Arbitrum and Optimism signify their confidence in the long-term potential of these assets.
Both Optimism and Arbitrum have recently displayed an extensive downward trend. According to CoinGecko, ARB price has decreased by 20.1% over the last 30 days, while OP’s value is down 22.2% over the same period.
These declines reflect a widespread decrease in most cryptocurrency prices, mainly driven by the recent Fed’s economic policy updates. Although the central bank reduced lending rates by 0.25%, it hinted at lesser reductions next year, dampening investor enthusiasm for markets. The announcement signified that lending rates could remain higher for a longer period of time, affecting the prices of risky assets like stocks and crypto.
Such market activity by the central bank typically leads to a global cash flow contraction, making borrowing funds more expensive. This eventually discourages investors from investing in risky assets like digital currencies.
