Ethereum’s $18 Million Loss Sends a Whale Run to Gold

A major crypto fund that recently lost heavily in Ethereum has reorganized its holdings, moving away from volatile tokens and increasing exposure to stablecoins and gold tokens, according to on-chain tracking data.
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The address attracted attention after the aggressive buying of Ethereum late last year that did not go well. Between November 3 and November 7, 2025, the fund spent approximately $110 million to acquire 31,005 ETH for an estimated value of $3,581.
As prices fell, the position did not suffer. Almost everything that was held was sold for about $92.19 million, it lost about $18 million within two weeks. At current prices close to $3,020, that same Ethereum stack would now be worth about $93.6 million.
Shift To Ether After Expensive Exits
Based on reports from blockchain monitoring platforms, the sale has marked a clear change in behavior. The wallet, which was once heavily tied to Ethereum, no longer holds the big bet that directs it to the legacy. Instead, balances are distributed across tokens such as cash and property. This step shows caution rather than an attempt to quickly recover losses.
Unknown whale, which lost $18.8M $ETH in just 2 weeks, it’s gone $ETH and circled in half #gold.
The whale spent $14.58M to buy 3,299 $XAUT at $4,421 in the last 7 hours. pic.twitter.com/X7k94zV0iQ
– Lookonchain (@lookonchain) January 2, 2026
Buying Gold Shows Preference for Low Volatility
According to on-chain records, the address started building a position in Tether’s tokenized gold product, XAUT. As of Friday, the fund used $14.58 million in USDT to buy 3,299 XAUTs in all transactions.
The average purchase price is close to $4,421 per token. This was not the first gold purchase. A small acquisition of XAUT was made on December 13, almost three weeks earlier. As of the latest data, the fund holds 3,386 XAUT tokens worth approximately $14.92 million.
The comprehensive portfolio now stands at $91 million. About $58 million is sitting in USDT, another $18 million is held in USDC, while the rest is split between XAUT and a reduced Ethereum balance. The structure points to the protection of money instead of high risk.
Metals Outpace Crypto By 2025
The previous year’s returns help explain the change. Reports have revealed that Bitcoin is down 6% in 2025, while Ethereum is down 11%. During the same period, gold rose more than 60%, and silver rose 147%.
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Major stock indexes such as the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq 100 also posted stronger performance than most of the crypto market. From the looks of those results, some investors seem more comfortable holding assets linked to metals or cash.
Meanwhile, analysts at asset manager VanEck have pointed to 2026 as a possible recovery year for the crypto market. Their idea contradicts the current behavior of large wallets moving to stablecoins and gold-linked tokens.
The split shows how uncertainty remains after a year in which traditional metals and assets delivered stronger gains than major cryptocurrencies.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView



