[DigitalToday reporter Yoonseo Lee] A whale wallet has drawn attention after buying $7.22 million worth of small- and mid-cap altcoins over the past 24 hours.

On Oct. 22 (local time), blockchain outlet U.Today reported that the wallet spread funds across nine assets. The purchases mainly targeted projects tied to decentralised finance (DeFi) and real-world assets (RWA).

The largest purchase was LIT, with 378,129 tokens bought for $1.4 million. It also bought 6.61 million ENA and 3 million ONDO for $1.34 million each. It additionally bought 1.154 million AERO, 241.8 Ethereum, 2,944 QNT, 61,252 UNI, 1,387 TAO and 43.3 billion PEPE.

The allocation stands out because it went into small- and mid-cap altcoins rather than bitcoin or large-cap coins. With most of the funds directed to small and mid-sized tokens, it is seen as aiming for more upside than top assets offer.

Short-term moves in the main purchases were mixed. LIT, the biggest buy, traded at $3.69, up about 7 percent in a day. That was close to the average purchase price of $3.70. Ethena fell about 2.5 percent over the past 24 hours to $0.199. It dropped from around $0.2437 a week earlier to $0.178 on Oct. 18 before a partial rebound, but it did not recover its previous level.

Ondo traded at $0.435, down more than 4 percent in a day. Aerodrome posted the biggest drop among the major purchases. It fell about 4.6 percent over the day to $0.807, slightly below the average purchase price of $0.82.

Ethereum fell about 1 percent to $2,428, showing a relatively stable move. Still, it was below the average purchase price of $2,444.

Bargain hunting and the selection of an investment theme have been cited as possible reasons for the buying. Several tokens had fallen sharply from their peaks, and most were also weak on the day of the purchases. That suggests the wallet accumulated positions during a decline rather than chasing a rebound.

The purchased tokens are also tied to specific investment themes. Ethena is categorised as a stablecoin, Ondo as tokenised real-world assets (RWA), Uniswap and Aerodrome as trading platforms, and Bittensor as an artificial intelligence (AI)-related token. Some also see the composition as going beyond simple diversification and building a position with themes in mind.

Still, it is difficult to conclude a price rebound based on purchases by a single wallet. Buying by one wallet does not necessarily mean prices will rise, and it could sell quickly after buying. Another variable is that small- and mid-cap altcoins are more volatile than large-cap coins, which can widen both gains and losses.

Points to watch will be whether the wallet buys more and whether declines in Ethena, Aerodrome and Ondo ease. The buying can be seen as an example of where whale funds are heading in terms of tokens and themes in an altcoin market that has seen steep declines.

A whale bought about $7.22 million worth of tokens over the past 24 hours, including: 378,129 LIT ($1.4 million), 6.61 million ENA ($1.34 million), 3 million ONDO ($1.34 million), 1.154 million AERO ($948,000), 241.8 ETH ($591,000), 2,944 QNT ($589,000), 61,252 UNI ($443,000), 1,387 TAO ($368,000), and 43.3 billion PEPE ($195,000). https://t.co/9IgfeLT9A8 https://t.co/ZeCPztInZV