We aim to analyze and draw some existing patterns based on the behavior of whales in six different NFT collections

The following document belongs to a new series of reports that intend to analyze on-chain metrics, in this case, Whale Patterns. The report analyzes some of the most important NFT collections and intends to draw some patterns in the behaviors incurred by their whale wallets.

N.B. A cryptocurrency whale is a term that refers to individuals or entities that hold large amounts of crypto. Whale movement is a simple signal that can have a huge effect on the price of a cryptocurrency depending on the size, magnitude, source, and destination of the transaction.

The blockchain industry is ever-evolving. Last summer we saw the DeFi mania reaching thousands of users with billions in TVL being locked in different dapps across several protocols. This year we have seen the rise of NFTs in different contexts and protocols generating volumes that were unthinkable a few months ago.

Due to the increased importance of NFTs in the industry, we decided to dive deep into one of the most important on-chain indicators for this space, the whale concentration index, or in simple terms, how diluted or concentrated a given collection is.

In this report, we aim to analyze and draw some existing patterns based on the behavior of whales in six collections: CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Art Blocks, Axie Infinity, Cool Cats NFT, and PudgyPenguins. First, we briefly discuss what exactly whales are and how they may affect the NFT market. Then we look up at a couple of tools that come in handy when performing whale analysis. Afterward, we introduce the Whales Concentration Index, an on-chain metric to evaluate a project’s distribution, and finally, we analyze the whale’s behavior for the aforementioned projects.

Source: DappRadar

Table of Contents

Key Findings

• Whale analysis is a key on-chain metric to understanding potential market manipulations.
• Pudgy Penguins and BAYC are among the best-distributed collections in the NFT space, their Whale Concentration Index is around 6.24% and 6.70% respectively.
• CryptoPunks have a high Whale Concentration Index with 1,410 Punks owned by 10 wallets (14.10%), yet due to the collection’s massive market cap ($3.1 billion), it is less prone to be manipulated.
• BAYC looks like the healthiest collection in terms of market manipulation, thanks to a low Whale Concentration Index (6.70%) and an impressive market cap ($1.1 billion).
• Art Blocks whales have important holdings in CryptoPunks and Meebits collectively owning 211 and 414 pieces respectively; Pudgy Penguins appear to be liked by these whales as 202 Penguins are also owned by Art Block whales.
• Axie whales are mostly focused on gaming NFTs, only two whales have diversified NFT collectibles portfolios.
• BAYC whales and Cool Cats whales tend to have diversified NFT strategies; BAYC whales own 418 Art Blocks collectively whilst Cool Cats whales have at least three pieces of the collections in scope including 81 CryptoPunks.
• CryptoPunks are heavily focused on Larva Labs collections as the whales do not own anything else besides Art Blocks (427) Punks (1,410) and Meebits (1,329).