Whale moves over $157M DOGE in the middle of a depressed meme market

A Dogecoin whale, accumulating since March 2021, recently moved its entire holdings—over $157 million—in a series of transactions to unknown addresses. This occurred amidst a downturn in the meme coin market.

The whale's massive wallet, previously holding the $157 million, was emptied through multiple transactions to new, unidentified addresses. No transfers were detected to cryptocurrency exchanges.

The whale's accumulation began in 2021, with consistent daily inflows. These continued until March 4th, after which the holder began transferring funds out. The wallet's transaction history shows recurring test transactions of 0.01 DOGE, followed by larger inflows of 4-5 million DOGE.

This transaction pattern suggests the wallet might belong to a Dogecoin miner. Given Dogecoin's production rate of 10,000 new coins every two minutes, the wallet's inflows align with a substantial daily share of DOGE creation.

Dogecoin's inflationary nature allows miners to profit from their mining activities. Furthermore, Dogecoin's co-mining with Litecoin reduces pressure on miners, as they benefit from both cryptocurrencies.

This whale's activity coincides with a significant decrease in activity from large Dogecoin holders. Whale wallet volume is down 88%, suggesting either profit-taking by early investors or a reduced interest in trading.

This movement follows a three-month decline for DOGE, pushing its price back to $0.19. Despite its high trading volume and widespread use, DOGE lacks substantial utility or staking mechanisms. While historically known for rapid price rallies, its responsiveness to US political narratives has recently diminished.

DOGE maintains over $1 billion in daily trading volume, boasting significant market depth. The whale's recent sell-off could easily be absorbed within a short timeframe.

Long-term, DOGE remains concentrated among large holders. The top 10 addresses control over 45% of all coins, with the largest single address holding 19.45% of the supply. Many early whales and miners are likely profitable and may not feel immediate pressure to sell.

DOGE dominates the meme coin market, representing the largest and most liquid segment within the meme asset space. It's often bundled with newer meme tokens.

DOGE exhibits a strong 0.92 correlation with Bitcoin's price movements, yet it frequently rallies independently or maintains stability during market turbulence.

As of March 7th, DOGE reclaimed the $0.20 level, while the broader meme coin market remains depressed. Meme assets have already seen a significant price correction following a post-election surge, with total valuation dropping to $58 billion, of which DOGE comprises over $29 billion.

Dogecoin mining remains active, with Litecoin's mining rate hitting all-time highs. The higher profitability of Litecoin mining, due to its block reward of 6.25 coins plus co-mined DOGE, allows miners to remain profitable even with lower energy costs, unlike Bitcoin miners.

The DOGE bonus significantly supports Litecoin miners, with F2Pool and ViaBTC receiving the majority of rewards. However, Dogecoin mining sentiment remains somewhat volatile, with periods of reduced activity.

DOGE's value is largely tied to its ironic appeal. Historically, strong DOGE performance has signaled the start of an altcoin season. However, its influence on altcoin enthusiasm seems to have lessened recently, though its activity remains closely monitored for market signals.

DOGE's activity is heavily US-centric, with significant reliance on Coinbase. However, it also retains a notable market share in Korean Won (13%) and against Binance's FDUSD (16%), with over 50% of its trading volume against USDT.