Whale
Informal shorthand for a participant who places a large options trade. The label describes trade size and says nothing about skill or information.
Scanners apply the whale label when a print crosses a premium threshold, often hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. Size shows that real capital changed hands, which is why traders watch these prints.
Size does not show what else the participant holds, so a large call purchase may hedge a short stock position, finance another leg or close an earlier trade. Reading a whale print without that context treats a classification as a fact about intent.
Illustrative example (hypothetical numbers, not a real trade): a print of 2,000 calls at $6.00 carries premium of 2,000 × $6.00 × 100 = $1.2 million and would clear a $1 million whale threshold. The same participant could have sold 2,000 calls at a higher strike in the same minute, which would make the print one leg of a spread.