What Is a Minnow?

In the English language, “minnow” can refer to a small fish — and a person or organization who is regarded as small or insignificant.

The same concepts apply in the world of cryptocurrencies. A minnow refers to someone who owns a relatively small amount of digital assets. This means that, when they buy or sell their crypto, it’s unlikely to have a substantial impact on the rest of the market.

This is at odds with whales — the term that refers to the very small number of individuals and institutions who hold substantial sums of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. If they decide to sell their holdings, there’s a very real risk that they could affect the spot prices that are seen on exchanges.

In rare cases, even a minnow can have a big impact. Some altcoins have incredibly low trading levels and a dire lack of liquidity, meaning that prices can shift dramatically even after a modest sale.

There’s no exact definition for how much of a crypto investment someone needs to hold in order to count as a minnow. However, research suggests that the vast amount of investors do fall into this category.

Even though the vast majority of addresses on the Bitcoin blockchain hold less than 0.1 BTC, they collectively own just 1% of the BTC that’s currently in circulation.