# Alert Notifications

> What an alert looks like, how transfers are batched, and how the USD value is computed.

Whenever a transfer meets or exceeds the USD threshold of one of your *watches*, **Whale Bot** sends you a direct message. Alerts are DMs, not posts — nobody else sees them.

## The Format

Each transfer in an alert shows:

- **🐳 Direction** — **IN** when tokens arrive at the watched wallet, **OUT** when tokens leave it.
- **Token symbol**, or the chain's native currency when it is a native transfer.
- **USD value** of the transfer, at the time it happened.
- **Counterparty address**, shortened — who sent the tokens in, or who they went out to.
- **View TX** link — tap it to open the transaction on the chain's block explorer.

When several transfers arrive close together, they are grouped into a single message so your chat does not get flooded.

## Batching

**Whale Bot** waits a few seconds after the first matching transfer to see whether more are coming, then emits a single combined message. This is ideal for whale wallets that move several tokens in one go — you get one tidy alert instead of a dozen separate pings.

Very large bursts are split across multiple messages so each stays under Telegram's size limit. No transfer is dropped — they simply continue in the next message.

## How the USD Value Is Computed

The bot converts each transfer to USD using the token's current price. For native transfers — *ETH*, *BNB*, *SOL*, or ETH on *Base* — the chain's native price is used.

> **INFO**
>
> Token pricing is best-effort. Illiquid tokens, brand-new tokens, or tokens without a reliable price source may show an approximation or arrive without a dollar figure. Tap **View TX** for the on-chain ground truth whenever a number looks surprising.

## Caveats

- Only **transfer events** produce alerts. Other on-chain activity involving the watched wallet — approvals, contract calls, liquidity events — does not.
- Transfers of tokens the bot cannot price at all are skipped, because there is no reliable way to compare them to your USD threshold.
- Alerts are intentionally **"at-least-once"**. Right after a restart, a transfer already in flight may produce a second alert a few minutes later. The bot is designed to err on the side of alerting too much rather than missing a real event.