Dogecoin (DOGE) has come under heavy selling pressure this week as large holders, or “whales,” began aggressively reducing their exposure.
According to analyst Ali Martinez, citing data from Santiment, wallets holding between 10 million and 100 million DOGE have sold around one billion coins in the past seven days, triggering a sharp market correction that wiped approximately $5 billion from the meme coin’s market capitalization.
On-chain metrics show steady outflows from this whale cohort since mid-October, a group often associated with early accumulators and market makers. Their sustained selling has coincided with Dogecoin’s slide below the 18-cent threshold, suggesting that institutional and large private investors are taking profits or repositioning ahead of broader market volatility.
At the start of last week, Dogecoin’s market capitalization stood at roughly $30.6 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data reviewed by Finbold. By November 4, that figure had fallen to $25.1 billion, reflecting a weekly decline of more than 17%.
Over the same period, DOGE’s price tumbled to $0.1657, marking a 4.75% drop in the past 24 hours and underperforming the broader cryptocurrency market, which fell by about 3.7%.
The decline appears to have been exacerbated by a combination of market-wide liquidations, whale short positions, and a key technical breakdown. More than $1.36 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated in the past day, with Dogecoin among the hardest-hit altcoins.
One trader reportedly netted over $36 million shorting DOGE, Ethereum, and several other major tokens. The coin also slipped through a crucial support zone near $0.18, triggering a cascade of automated sell-offs across major exchanges.
Despite the slump, trading activity surged, with daily volume rising by more than 90% to $3.9 billion. The spike suggests that while whales are exiting, retail traders may be attempting to capitalize on volatility or accumulate at lower levels.
