A Dogecoin "whale" investor holds over $12 billion worth of the meme currency, according to reports.

In the cryptocurrency market a "whale" refers to entities or individuals who possess enough currency to potentially manipulate its value.

A particular Dogecoin address apparently holds nearly 36.71 billion Doge worth around $12.91 billion (around Rs 94,000 crore), despite a drop in its prices recently, according to the data from Bitinfocharts.

This is 28 percent of the cryptocurrency's overall supply. The Dogecoin "whale" first purchased 100 Doge on February 6, 2019 for $0.18 (Rs 13.10). It means it was then trading at $0.0018 (roughly 13 paise) per coin.

Two weeks ago, before the recent crash, the valuation of the "whale" account's holdings had touched $22 billion (around Rs 16,0171 crore).

Currently, Dogecoin is trading at around $ 0.35 (about Rs 25.47), up 11.96 percent from the previous day.

The market cap of Dogecoin is $46.34 billion, with a volume of $8.49 billion in the last two hours, according to CoinDesk.

With a "whale" account accumulating billions worth of Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency investors face an imminent threat of a huge manipulation of the market anytime.

In February, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted he would fully support major Dogecoin holders if they sell most of their holdings.

“If major Dogecoin holders sell most of their coins, it will get my full support. Too much concentration is the only real issue…,” he tweeted on February 15.

In another tweet, he added, “I will literally pay actual $ if they just void their accounts.”

To this, the Dogecoin Twitter handle replied, “If major US Dollar holders sell most of their coins, it will get my full support. Too much concentration is the only real issue…”

Dogecoin, launched in 2013, has seen a stupendous rise at the beginning of this year, primarily following Musk’s support on social media. But of late, it too witnessed a fall along with other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, again attributed to Musk’s tweets.

If major Dogecoin holders sell most of their coins, it will get my full support. Too much concentration is the only real issue imo.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 14, 2021

In February, he had warned that the biggest threat to Dogecoin was its extreme concentration among a handful of digital wallets.

Some speculate that the Dogecoin "whale" investor could be Musk himself, according to a report in Gadgets 360.

Two weeks ago, the value of the Dogecoin fell sharply, one of the main reasons being China’s announcement of a ban on cryptocurrency trading.

(Edited by : Shoma)

First Published:May 25, 2021 5:25 PM IST