Best Crypto Research Tools for Trading and Investing in 2026.

Learn how to track whale wallets and make data-driven decisions.

When I first started trading, I thought that charts and news were the most important things. It seemed that if I followed Twitter and read analytics, I could catch the movement.

In reality, the opposite was true: the big players had already done everything, and I was just reacting. Over time, I realized that it’s not enough to just look at the price; you need to understand who is controlling it.

This comes when you start working with analytical tools. They show where the money is going, who is buying, who is selling, and where positions are accumulating. With their help, you can see the activity of large wallets, the so-called whales, in advance.

If they withdraw tokens from the exchange, it means they are preparing to hold. If, on the contrary, tokens go to the exchange, a sale may be planned. These details help you make decisions calmly, without panic and guesswork.

In this article, I will explain how to use them for analysis and how whale activity can be used to predict price movements.

Why are crypto research tools needed in 2026

The cryptocurrency market has become much faster and more complex over the past couple of years. Information spreads in minutes, and big players — the very whales — are capable of changing trends with literally one movement of their wallet.

In the past, you could rely on news and intuition, but today, without analytics and data tracking systems, traders quickly lose their bearings. Therefore, research tools have become not just a convenient addition but a necessary part of the workflow.

Crypto research tools let you see not only the price but also what lies behind it: where the money comes from, which addresses hold the asset, and where mass withdrawals originate. This makes trading less chaotic and helps you make decisions based on facts rather than emotions.

Many experienced market participants have already developed their own setups using several tools — some combine on-chain analytics with visual charts, while others rely on signals from AI platforms.

In 2026, the value of such services will only grow. After all, the market is moving towards automation, which means that those who are quicker to see changes in data and know how to interpret them will win.

The better your access to analytics, the higher your chance of catching the movement before the crowd.

Who are the “whales” and why are their movements worth paying attention to?

In cryptocurrency, whales are holders of large volumes of tokens — most often worth several million dollars. These can be funds, exchanges, old miners, or even private investors who entered the market in its early stages.

Their actions can create waves throughout the market: when whales buy, liquidity increases, and the price often rises. When they withdraw assets to exchanges, the market becomes tense, anticipating sales.

Tracking such addresses gives a huge advantage. In essence, it is an opportunity to see “behind the scenes” — who is accumulating assets, who is exiting their positions, and which tokens are becoming the focus of large wallets.

Whale analytics helps you avoid guessing the direction, and instead observe the real movements of capital.

Thanks to this, even an ordinary user can analyze the behavior of strong players and make decisions with minimal lag.

Selection criteria: what distinguishes a powerful analytical tool

A good crypto research tool is not just a pretty dashboard with graphs. Its power lies in how quickly and accurately it helps you make decisions.

To do this, it is important that the service provides access to multiple data sources: on-chain metrics, exchange activity, and social signals. The broader the coverage, the more accurate the market picture.

When choosing, it is worth paying attention to data sources and their update frequency. For example, platforms such as ASCN AI use a direct connection to blockchains and exchange APIs, ensuring data freshness within minutes.

Another important parameter is visualization. The tool should help you see connections, trends, and anomalies, rather than overload the interface with numbers.

Now I will tell you about 7 good tools for crypto analytics that I use for my own trading.

The best tools for crypto research

There are dozens of platforms on the market promising “the best crypto analysis,” but in reality, most are limited to superficial charts or outdated data. Below is a collection of tools that I use myself and can vouch for the quality of these products.

They all solve different problems: some show real-time on-chain activity, while others help visualize trends and build strategies. Together, they form a complete set for in-depth analysis of the market and large capital movements.

1. ASCN AI

ASCN AI is the best crypto AI assistant, helping you understand the market, analyze on-chain data, find trading opportunities, and form strategies in seconds.

You don’t need to dive into complex technologies: just ask a question via the web interface, and the system will provide an instant, clear, and accurate answer.

I want to share a case study of a real user who made $15,000 in 3 hours with the help of the ASCN AI assistant. He made a decision in a matter of seconds, based solely on the crypto analyst’s answers.

In the trading terminal, traders saw abnormal sales and a sharp increase in volume on centralized exchanges. In classical analysis, the situation appears chaotic because there is no news, yet aggressive orders are in the glass. The trader immediately asked the AI agent a question.

The AI assistant analyzed tens of thousands of transactions in a few seconds and identified actions that would have taken about an hour or more to detect on its own.

ASCN collected all the data and presented it in a single message. As a result, the trader decided to open a short position. A few hours later, information about the project being hacked appeared in the media.

It turned out that the AI agent was right and provided accurate analytics, which helped the trader make a good profit.

ASCN is the best AI solution based on reviews and my own analysis, your personal assistant that helps both beginners in crypto and experienced traders.

The platform combines everything you need: powerful crypto AI for token analysis, on-chain and blockchain analytics with data from nodes, workflow automation, and a convenient no-code builder that lets you create your own AI agents without programming skills.

Beginners will be able to easily master analytics and understand the basics of the market. Thanks to simple explanations and recommendations within the interface.

Experienced traders will appreciate the flexible functionality for advanced strategies and real-time analysis. The subscription price is very affordable for all users.

In my opinion, the best choice is the $99 plan, which gives you access to ASCN v1.2 with more accurate on-chain research and market analysis data. A detailed comparison of plans and their features can be found on the official website in the “Plans” section.

I recommend personally testing all the features of ASCN to understand how the system works and try to earn money with the AI assistant.

2. Nansen

Nansen’s key feature is its “Smart Money” system, which tracks the movements of high-yield wallets and exchange-traded funds. Thanks to address tags, users can see exactly which players are making transactions: funds, insiders, DEX traders, or market makers.

For active traders, Nansen is useful for its daily alerts and ready-made dashboards for specific tokens. You can quickly see where liquidity is flowing, what assets whales are accumulating, and where a surge of interest is possible. The interface is intuitive, making it convenient even for beginners.

3. Arkham

Arkham positions itself as an “investigation tool” in the world of cryptocurrencies. It helps reveal the identities of addresses by matching wallets to companies, funds, and exchanges.

The interface resembles an analytical panel for investigators: graphs, connections, mutual transfers, and asset clusters. This is especially useful if you need to understand who is behind certain movements or how different tokens and projects are interconnected.

The platform allows you to track transfer chains and create your own dashboards with capital flow visualizations. Arkham is often used not only by traders but also by researchers, journalists, and funds to verify insider information and track suspicious schemes.

4. TradingView

TradingView is the oldest and most versatile technical analysis tool. Its strength lies in bringing together a large community of traders and providing thousands of indicators, templates, and user strategies. Here you can track crypto, stocks, and indices, and build your own price-behavior scenarios.

For traders who combine fundamental signals with visual analysis, TradingView remains indispensable. Alerts allow you to stay on top of important movements, and the built-in screener helps you find assets with the right dynamics.

Many analysts use TradingView alongside on-chain platforms to integrate technical and behavioral analysis into a single workflow.

5. Glassnode

Glassnode is a database of key network metrics. It helps to understand what stage of the cycle the market is in: accumulation, growth, or distribution.

The service collects indicators such as address activity, exchange volumes, and the age of tokens in circulation, and displays them in clear graphs.

Glassnode is especially useful for medium- and long-term investors. It can be used to analyze the market picture: whether there is an outflow of funds from exchanges, whether interest in Bitcoin is growing, and where the bottom of the cycle is forming. The platform’s reports are regularly used by analytical publications and research funds.

6. Dune

Dune is a tool for those who want to build their own analytics. It provides open blockchain data and the ability to run SQL queries, enabling you to create your own dashboards.

The platform already has thousands of dashboards that can serve as templates for everything from NFT platform analysis to liquidity movements on DEXes.

The main advantage of Dune is its flexibility and transparency. Any user can review the calculation logic, adapt the code, and share their findings. This makes Dune an excellent platform for researchers who want to work with raw data and test their own hypotheses.

7. Lookonchain

Lookonchain is a crypto intelligence platform focused on tracking whale movements and large on-chain transactions in real time. It monitors major wallet activity and highlights significant inflows to and outflows from exchanges.

The platform simplifies complex blockchain data into short, clear insights, making it easier to understand what large players are doing. If whales begin accumulating or moving tokens, Lookonchain quickly flags the activity.

For traders who want fast alerts and early signals of potential market shifts, Lookonchain serves as a real-time monitoring layer. When combined with tools like ASCN.ai or TradingView, it helps confirm whether capital is positioning for accumulation or distribution

I have prepared a table for you to understand the functionality of each application and what makes them special.

How to properly track whale wallets

Based on my experience, I want to share with you how to track whales. It is important to understand that this is not just about observing large transfers.

It is a system that requires checking sources, filtering out unnecessary wallets, and resisting emotions. Many beginners make the mistake of blindly repeating transactions made by large addresses without understanding why. To avoid this, you need to establish a clear analysis process.

1. Find the wallet you need

The first step is to search for interesting wallets. You can find them through platforms such as Nansen and ASCN.ai. These services already tag addresses: funds, exchanges, OTC platforms, and insiders.

The main task is to ensure that the address actually belongs to the above-mentioned entities, not just an active user. To do this, you need to compare the transaction history, transfer frequency, and connections to other wallets.

This method will help weed out active users from truly big players.

2. Trade and strategy analysis

Once an address has been found, it is important to understand its market strategy: how often it trades, what assets it invests in, and what it does before the market rises or falls.

This can be tracked using capital flow charts or transaction timestamps. For example, ASCN.ai lets you see how activity at a specific address changed before price spikes, and Glassnode helps you correlate these movements with overall market phases.

It is useful to look not only at individual transactions but also at the context in which the funds are used after the transfer. If a token leaves a cold wallet for an exchange, it may signal a sell. Conversely, a massive withdrawal from exchanges is often a sign of accumulation.

3. Notifications and automation

At the last stage, I recommend automating the process. Almost all modern tools allow you to create alerts:

This saves time and allows you to react instantly.

At the same time, it is important to have your own risk checklist. Not every movement of a large address leads to growth — sometimes funds simply redistribute liquidity or test smart contracts.

Therefore, any signals need to be confirmed by additional sources: volumes, news, and market reaction. Only then does whale tracking become a tool rather than a trap.

How to combine them

I want to share with you how you can combine several tools and thereby systematize your workflow. In crypto analytics, everything comes down to teamwork:

• ASCN.ai — for daily on-chain signals;
• Dune — for custom reports and trend monitoring;
• Google Sheets or Notion — for recording hypotheses and plans.

This combination helps you structure your workspace as much as possible, avoid rash decisions, and give your trading progress over the long term. After all, the main thing is discipline and a structured approach to trading.

Conclusion

The modern cryptocurrency market is a space where the winner is the first to notice capital flows. I have told you about seven tools that help you see the real picture: from whale activity and liquidity flows to trader sentiment and blockchain metrics. Each of them is useful in its own way, but right now, ASCN AI stands out for me.

This platform combines everything an active market participant needs: on-chain analytics, an AI signal system, whale tracking, and automated alerts. Unlike traditional services, ASCN.ai doesn’t just show transactions — it helps interpret them, turning data streams into understandable insights. This gives traders an advantage in reaction speed and decision accuracy.

Such tools should be used not as forecasters, but as allies in strategy. ASCN AI can become the center of your analytical stack, connected to Nansen, TradingView, or Glassnode. This combination results in a systematic approach. This is how modern trading is built: smart, fast, and data-driven.

That’s all I had for you. Hope it was helpful!

Until next time, keep winning!

Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link. I may earn a commission if you purchase through them — at no extra cost to you

Best Crypto Research Tools for Trading and Investing in 2026. was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.