Whales and institutions are accumulating defi tokens on Ethereum – Here’s what they’re buying

As we approach the festive season, there’s an ongoing defi and memecoin bullish wave. Recent data shows whale and institutional crypto wallets are making significant withdrawals of Ether-based defi tokens from exchanges and buying memecoins worth millions of dollars. 

Lookonchain updates on X show institutional investors are actively accumulating defi tokens on the Ethereum network. Among the notable players is blockchain company Galaxy Digital, who made significant withdrawals from exchanges early Friday, including 1.07 million Uniswap (UNI) tokens worth $18.9 million and 27,722 Aave (AAVE) tokens valued at $10.19 million. 

Whales/Institutions are accumulating #Defi tokens on #Ethereum!#GalaxyDigital withdrew 1.07M $UNI($18.9M) and 27,722 $AAVE($10.19M) from exchanges today.https://t.co/lD8tgkC4Py pic.twitter.com/xX8yZNIfao

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) December 13, 2024

According to Arkham Intelligence data, Galaxy Digital’s total AAVE and UNI holdings stood at $56.26 million at press time. 

IntoTheBlock’s recent reports also reveal that in the past week, Ethereum whales have made transactions of over $74 billion, with exchange net flows clocking $781 million within the same period. Going by the numbers, it seems whales now prefer to accumulate tokens to make short-term profits.

Aave token surges as whale activity increases 

Through its X account, IBD noted that transactions from individuals holding a large number of AAVE tokens exceeded 3,100, a weekly high that was last seen in 2022.

Aave whales are stirring.

Last week saw 3,310 transactions exceeding $100k in $AAVE, the highest weekly number since 2022 pic.twitter.com/XEg7Am7RIc

— Sentora (@SentoraHQ) December 12, 2024

Earlier this week, a crypto whale gained attention after borrowing 3 million USDT to purchase an additional 11,605 AAVE tokens. 

According to several sources, the whale has amassed a total of 87,098 AAVE since October, valued at $22.88 million, with an average acquisition price of $167 per token. With AAVE’s recent price surge, the whale’s unrealized profit has already exceeded $18 million.

AAVE has delivered a strong performance in 2024, with its value surging by over 300% year-to-date and climbing 342% over the past six months, per Coinmarketcap data. Since July, the token’s price has skyrocketed from below $100 to surpass $360, marking its highest level since 2021.

In the last 24 hours alone, AAVE’s price saw a sharp rise from $268 to $366.71, and its trading volume increased by 35% during the same period.

Analysts believe the recent price rally was sparked by Donald Trump’s World Liberty Finance recent market activity. According to multiple whale activity trackers, including Lookonchain, the Trump-linked defi platform recently acquired a number of tokens, including 37,052 Chainlink (LINK) for $1 million at $27 per token and 685 AAVE for $246,700 at $360 each. 

Investor interest rises on Solana memecoins 

In other news, Lookonchain also highlighted a Solana (SOL) whale’s market activity, who made massive profits by selling memecoin CHILLGUY, a token inspired by the social media meme frenzy “just a chillguy.”

Whales/Institutions are accumulating #Defi tokens on #Ethereum!#GalaxyDigital withdrew 1.07M $UNI($18.9M) and 27,722 $AAVE($10.19M) from exchanges today.https://t.co/lD8tgkC4Py pic.twitter.com/xX8yZNIfao

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) December 13, 2024

The investor initially spent 2,025 SOL to acquire 5.73 million CHILLGUY and later sold them for 9,963 SOL, securing a profit of 7,938 SOL, approximately $1.79 million going by Solana’s current valuation.

Over the last 21 days, the same whale has invested $2.75 million in SOL to purchase 8.15 million FARTCOIN, which is now valued at $5.28 million. This leaves the whale with impressive unrealized gains of about $2.53 million.

At the time of writing, Fartcoin’s market capitalization has soared past $600 million, surpassing the size of 85% of publicly traded companies in the United States. 

The memecoin has seen a 58% uptick in the past 24 hours and is now trading at slightly above $0.6, per recent updates from CoinMarketcap. This surge is part of a broader 257% rally over the past week, which pushed its price to an all-time high of $0.72.