A major crypto wallet that recently suffered a sharp loss on Ethereum has restructured its holdings, moving away from volatile tokens and increasing exposure to stablecoins and tokenized goldaccording to the tracking data in the chain.
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The address attracted attention after the aggressive Ethereum the purchase at the end of last year went wrong. Between November 3 and November 7, 2025, the wallet spent about $110 million to buy 31,005 ETH at an average price of $3,581.
As prices fell, the position was withdrawn. Almost the entire property sold for approximately $92.19 million, posting a loss of nearly $18 million within two weeks. At current prices close to $3,020, that same Ethereum stack would now be valued at around $93.6 million.
Get off the air after an expensive date
Based on reports from blockchain monitoring platforms, the selloff marked a clear change in behavior. The wallet, which was once heavily tied to Ethereum, no longer holds a large focused asset bet. Instead, balances are distributed across cash-like tokens and commodities. The move reflects more caution than an attempt to quickly recoup losses.
The unknown whale, which lost 18.8 million dollars on $ETH in just 2 weeks, he left $ETH and rotated in #gold.
Kit spent $14.58 million to buy 3299 $XAUT to 4421 USD in the past 7 hours.https://t.co/hit6agWmHd pic.twitter.com/X7k94zV0iQ
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) January 2, 2026
Buying gold shows a tendency towards lower volatility
According to on-chain records, the address began building a position in Tether’s tokenized gold product, XAUT. Starting Friday, the wallet spent $14.58 million in USDT to purchase 3,299 XAUT through several transactions.
The average purchase price was close to $4,421 per token. This was not the first purchase of gold. A smaller acquisition of XAUT was made on December 13, about three weeks earlier. According to the latest data, the wallet contains 3386 XAUT tokens worth about $14.92 million.
The broader portfolio now stands at close to $91 million. About $58 million is in USDT, another $18 million is in USDC, while the rest is split between XAUT and a reduced Ethereum balance. The composition indicates capital protection, not high-risk positioning.
Metals Outpace Crypto in 2025
A flashback from last year helps explain the change. Reports revealed that Bitcoin is down 6% in 2025, while Ethereum is down 11%. In the same period, gold rose over 60% and silver an even steeper 147%.
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Major stock indices like S&P 500The Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 also posted stronger performances than much of the crypto market. With those results in mind, some investors seem more comfortable holding assets linked to metals or cash.
Meanwhile, analysts at asset manager VanEck highlighted 2026 as a possible recovery year for the crypto market. Their view contrasts with the current behavior of major wallets moving to gold-linked stablecoins and tokens.
The split shows how uncertain sentiment remains after a year in which metals and traditional assets posted stronger gains than major cryptocurrencies.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
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