A whale is a person or party that owns a large portion of a particular cryptocurrency.
There is no set amount that indicates whether someone is a whale or not. Usually, a whale is spoken of when that person or party has enough coins to influence the price of a cryptocurrency. To influence the price of Bitcoin requires hundreds of millions or even billions. This is why investment funds are also often considered whale. Lesser-known coins with a lower market cap require less money to influence the price.
The term "whale" is used because a whale is the largest animal on earth. In the casino, the term is also used to indicate a player who has a lot of money. In crypto, other sea life is also used to indicate a person's stake in a cryptocurrency. For example, a shrimp is spoken of for someone with a small share and a dolphin for to wallet with a mediocre share.
