When people talk about "whales" they usually talk as thought the "whales" are 1 collective body, united under 1 goal.
This is not true.
Generally, people think that whales want the price of BTC to go up. This is not fully true (will explain below).
However, they're not a concerted group - they're all having disputes at the moment - your only reliable piece of information is they all obviously want to eventually have the price increase - however, how they do it, who they team up with, who they f*ck over - that's all up in the air as they all fight for an increased share.
Rinse and Repeat Methods
Bitcoin.com explains one of the most basic rinse and repeat methods that whales can use to continually profit.
Bitcoin Whales Want More Than "Easy" Profits
It is naive to think that BTC whales are only interested in making a "quick buck."
Just imagine how powerful the BTC whales will become as time goes on. Those who continue to gain market-share will dominate in the future. This isn't just about "making a quick buck," this is about the future ruling class.
Its an all-out battle right now.
So you can't infer any monolithic motives to whales. In fact, surprise, surprise -- the CIA / FBI have huge pieces of BTC from drug busts and counter-terrorism measures.
In the big picture, this sh*t's just getting started - seriously...
So, BTC Whales DO Control Bitcoin's Price Movement, right?
Although a BTC whale can easily manipulate market price, because they are not a concerted group, they can't (and don't) simply decide what the market will do.