They are much worse than whales - they have the ability to manipulate the market. In normal exchanges there are strong rules to prevent manipulation. Normal exchanges that do manipulation end with people going to prison. Not so in crypto where there are no rules.

In crypto exchanges employees also trade on the same exchanges for themselves - they know what people want to buy and sell and can use that insider information to make profitable trades for themselves. This is highly illegal in normal exhanges. But not in crypto. In crypto all types of manipulation that people would go to prison for elsewhere is happening. Why do you think sharp traders in Wall Street want to get in on the action? Because here they can use their dirty tricks that are otherwise illegal on normal exchanges.