The market plummeted following Donald Trump’s declaration of a 100% tariff on Chinese imports, leading to nearly $19 billion in crypto liquidations in just one day. Despite the chaos, crypto whales were spotted buying assets.
On-chain data reveals that large investors increased their stakes in three altcoins — indicating a belief that this drop was driven by sentiment rather than structural issues. Let’s explore what whales are purchasing and why these tokens might spearhead the next recovery.
Chainlink (LINK)
The announcement of China tariffs by Donald Trump set off one of the sharpest selloffs in recent months. While many altcoins faced severe declines, Chainlink (LINK) saw sustained buying from larger holders — a trend corroborated by the data.
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As per Nansen, whale wallets with over 100,000 LINK increased their holdings by 22.45%, raising their total to 4.16 million LINK. This indicates that whales added approximately 0.76 million LINK, valued around $13.7 million at the current LINK price.
The top 100 addresses also increased their positions by 0.14%, accumulating a total of 646.48 million LINK — a net increase of about 0.90 million LINK, or $16.3 million.
This accumulation was not random. Data from Nansen indicates that smart money wallets increased by 1.51% (anticipating a recovery), while public figure wallets rose by 1.97%. In contrast, exchange balances increased by 5.85%, suggesting retail traders were likely selling.
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This trend aligns with Chainlink’s robust fundamentals. During the selloff, Chainlink’s oracles provided real-time pricing data that enabled Aave to handle over $180 million in liquidations efficiently.
The network’s reliability during stressful times likely reinforced whale confidence in LINK’s role in DeFi.
On the technical side, LINK is trading within a symmetrical consolidation channel, showing constricted price action before a possible breakout.
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On the two-day chart, a bullish RSI divergence has emerged: while prices dipped to a lower low around $7.90, the RSI posted a higher low, suggesting a potential reversal or at least a rebound.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) gauges the intensity of buying or selling pressure on a scale from 0 to 100, assisting in identifying overbought or oversold conditions.
As of this moment, LINK trades around $17.70, just below resistance at $18.40. A breakout above $21.30 may lead to $24.90, with a two-day close above $27.90 potentially pushing LINK towards $35.50.
Conversely, if the two-day candle closes below $16.40, we may see bearish trends dominate.
Uniswap (UNI)
As the broader market absorbed the tariff shock, Uniswap (UNI) experienced quiet accumulation from whales. Wallets with significant UNI holdings increased their balances from 690.10 million to 690.76 million, adding approximately 0.66 million UNI, valued around $4 million at the current UNI price.
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This surge coincided with Uniswap processing nearly $9 billion in daily trading volume, its highest in months, without any downtime or network strain — indicative of DeFi stability during extreme volatility.
The price chart reinforces the conviction of crypto whales. UNI is trading within an ascending triangle, a bullish continuation formation characterized by higher lows and a flat upper resistance.
The recent crash left a long wick, but buyers successfully closed the two-day candle back within the trendline, preserving the pattern.
Should UNI break above $6.70, the setup opens the possibility of a move towards $8.00 and $9.60. Presently, the price structure alongside whale positioning suggests the bullish sentiment remains intact despite the broader market correction. The outlook could shift if the two-day candle closes below $5.80.
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Dogecoin (DOGE)
Among the leading memecoins, Dogecoin (DOGE) distinguished itself during the tariff-induced selloff. Even after experiencing a near 23% drop in the past 24 hours, DOGE witnessed one of the most aggressive whale accumulations in the market, showcasing conviction amid the panic.
According to on-chain analytics, wallets with over one billion DOGE increased their balances from 71.22 billion to 72.04 billion, confirming an addition of roughly 0.82 billion DOGE during the downturn.
At the current DOGE price, this accounts for about $156 million in new accumulation by the major crypto whales.
From a technical standpoint, Dogecoin is trading around $0.19, rebounding from the 0.5 Fibonacci retracement area near $0.20. A sustained move above $0.20 could open pathways toward $0.22 — the vital 0.618 Fibonacci level. Following that, potential targets include $0.26 and $0.30. Nonetheless, a daily close below $0.17 would negate this bullish scenario.
In support of the optimistic outlook, the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) — a measure of money inflows and outflows from large wallets — has consistently remained above zero throughout the downturn.
This suggests that buying pressure persisted even amid market corrections.
Furthermore, the Bull Bear Power (BBP) indicator, which monitors the strength relationship between buyers and sellers, shows that the red bearish bars are consistently diminishing. The declining bearish pressure indicates weakening selling momentum, resonating with the CMF rebound.
