The market tumbled after Donald Trump announced a 100% tariff on Chinese imports, wiping out nearly $19 billion in crypto liquidations within a day. Yet while traders panicked, crypto whales were seen buying.
On-chain data shows large investors added exposure across three altcoins — signaling confidence that this sell-off was sentiment-driven, not structural. Here’s a look at what whales are buying and why these tokens could lead the next rebound.
Chainlink (LINK)
Donald Trump’s 100% China tariffs triggered one of the steepest market-wide selloffs in months. While most altcoins crumbled under pressure, Chainlink (LINK) drew quiet accumulation from large holders — and the data backs it up.
According to Nansen, whale wallets holding over 100,000 LINK boosted their positions by 22.45%, bringing total holdings to 4.16 million LINK. That means whales added roughly 0.76 million LINK, worth about $13.7 million at the current LINK price.
The top 100 addresses also increased their balance by 0.14%, bringing their collective stash to 646.48 million LINK — a net addition of around 0.90 million LINK, or $16.3 million.
LINK Whales: Nansen
The accumulation wasn’t random. Nansen’s data also shows that smart money wallets rose 1.51% (expecting a bounce), and public figure wallets climbed 1.97%. Meanwhile, exchange balances grew 5.85%, meaning retail traders were likely selling.
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This move aligns with Chainlink’s strong fundamentals. During the selloff, Chainlink’s oracles delivered real-time pricing data that reportedly allowed Aave to process over $180 million in liquidations without downtime.
The network’s reliability under stress likely reinforced whale conviction in LINK’s DeFi role.
Technically, LINK trades inside a symmetrical consolidation channel, showing tightening price action before a potential breakout.
On the two-day chart, a bullish RSI divergence has formed: while prices made a lower low near $7.90, RSI made a higher low, hinting at a fortune reversal or at least a rebound.
LINK Price Analysis: TradingView
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) measures how strong buying or selling pressure is on a scale from 0 to 100, helping identify when assets are overbought or oversold.
At press time, LINK trades near $17.70, just under resistance at $18.40. A breakout above $21.30 could open the path toward $24.90, and a 2-day close above $27.90 might send LINK toward $35.50.
However, if the 2-day candle closes under $16.40, we can expect the bears to dominate.
Uniswap (UNI)
While the wider market absorbed the tariff shock, Uniswap (UNI) saw quiet whale accumulation. Wallets holding large amounts of UNI increased their balances from 690.10 million to 690.76 million, adding roughly 0.66 million UNI, worth about $4 million at the current UNI price.
Uniswap Whales: Santiment
The move came as Uniswap processed nearly $9 billion in daily trading volume, its highest in months, and did so without downtime or network stress — a sign of DeFi stability even in extreme volatility.
The price chart validates the crypto whale conviction. UNI trades within an ascending triangle, a bullish continuation structure marked by higher lows and a flat upper resistance.
The recent crash produced a long wick, but buyers managed to close the two-day candle back inside the trendline, keeping the pattern intact.
UNI Price Analysis: TradingView
If UNI breaks above $6.70, the setup opens room for a move toward $8.00 and $9.60. For now, the price structure and whale positioning together suggest bullish bias remains intact despite the broader correction. Invalidation exists if the 2-day candle closes under $5.80.
Dogecoin (DOGE)
Among the top memecoins, Dogecoin (DOGE) stood out during the tariff-driven crash. What’s remarkable is that even after dropping nearly 23% in the past 24 hours, DOGE saw one of the most aggressive whale accumulations across the market. This is a clear sign of conviction amid panic.
According to on-chain data, wallets holding over one billion DOGE increased their balances from 71.22 billion to 72.04 billion, adding about 0.82 billion DOGE during the selloff.
At the current DOGE price, that represents roughly $156 million worth of new accumulation by the mega crypto whales.
Dogecoin Whales: Santiment
Technically, Dogecoin is trading near $0.19, rebounding from the 0.5 Fibonacci retracement zone around $0.20. A sustained move above $0.20 could open the door toward $0.22 — the key 0.618 Fibonacci level. That could be followed by $0.26 and $0.30. However, a daily close below $0.17 would invalidate this rebound setup.
Supporting the bullish outlook, the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) — which measures money inflow and outflow by large wallets — has stayed consistently above zero throughout the crash.
This indicates that buying pressure remained strong even as the market corrected.
Dogecoin Price Analysis: TradingView
Meanwhile, the Bull Bear Power (BBP) indicator, which tracks the strength balance between buyers and sellers, shows the red bearish bars steadily shrinking. The falling bearish power suggests selling momentum is fading, aligning with the rebound in CMF.
