As prices slid, the position was unwound. Nearly the entire holding was sold for roughly $92.19 million, locking in a loss close to $18 million within two weeks. At current prices near $3,020, that same Ethereum stack would now be valued at around $93.6 million.
Shift Away From Ether After Costly ExitBased on reports from blockchain monitoring platforms, the sell-off marked a clear change in behavior. The wallet, once heavily tied to Ethereum, no longer holds a large directional bet on the asset. Instead, balances have been spread across cash-like tokens and commodities. The move reflects caution rather than an attempt to quickly recover losses.
According to on-chain records, the address began building a position in Tether’s tokenized gold product, XAUT. Starting on Friday, the wallet spent $14.58 million in USDT to buy 3,299 XAUT across several transactions.
The average purchase price came in near $4,421 per token. This was not the first gold buy. A smaller XAUT acquisition was made on December 13, roughly three weeks earlier. As of the latest data, the wallet holds 3,386 XAUT tokens worth about $14.92 million.
The broader portfolio now totals close to $91 million. About $58 million sits in USDT, another $18 million is held in USDC, while the remainder is split between XAUT and a reduced Ethereum balance. The composition points to capital protection rather than high-risk positioning.
Metals Outperform Crypto In 2025Returns from last year help explain the change. Reports have disclosed that Bitcoin fell by 6% in 2025, while Ethereum dropped 11%. Over the same period, gold surged over 60%, and silver rose an even steeper 147%.
Meanwhile, analysts at asset manager VanEck have pointed to 2026 as a possible recovery year for the crypto market. Their view contrasts with the current behavior of large wallets moving into stablecoins and gold-linked tokens.
The divide shows how uncertain sentiment remains after a year when metals and traditional assets delivered stronger gains than major cryptocurrencies.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
