TL;DR
- A new whale wallet accumulated nearly $7M in XAUT from Bybit’s hot wallet, including a 450 XAUT tranche, funded only for gas.
- Spot metrics strengthened with about $854M monthly volume and a brief premium, with XAUT near $5,542.07 versus spot gold near $5,537.78.
- Derivatives activity increased, led by Bybit at about $177.9M open interest and a record $194M total, as XAUT mindshare jumped 164%.
A newly created whale wallet has been quietly building a tokenized gold position after receiving XAUT moved out of Bybit’s hot wallet, taking the running total to nearly $7M. The transfer pattern signals intentional accumulation rather than a one off exit from an exchange. One of the more recent tranches included 450 XAUT, and each token represents one ounce of gold, turning the wallet into a straightforward onchain vault. The address was funded only with enough ETH to cover gas, reinforcing a single purpose setup aimed at custody and consolidation. Simplicity is the point.
Tokenized gold momentum builds across spot and derivatives
Tokenized gold is also getting louder on the tape as investors reassess risk. XAUT is attracting incremental demand as participants look for a defensive allocation that still settles natively onchain. Over the past month, spot volume expanded to about $854M, making it the second highest reading after an unusual spike in November. Pricing briefly reflected a small premium to spot gold, with XAUT around $5,542.07 while spot gold sat near $5,537.78. CoinGecko data showed searches for XAUT accelerating during the move. The premium hints at a convenience bid for nonstop swaps.
Leverage markets are scaling alongside spot interest, sharpening the signal behind the whale’s flow. Open interest levels imply tokenized gold is increasingly used for active positioning, not just long term storage. Bybit has become the dominant venue for XAUT speculation, carrying about $177.9M in open interest. Across the market, total XAUT open interest has reached a record $194M, concentrating liquidity and tightening the feedback loop between spot demand and derivatives pricing. When open interest clusters on one venue, execution quality and risk management become the differentiators that matter most to sophisticated traders today.
The broader backdrop helps explain why a gold proxy is finding new air cover in crypto portfolios. With bitcoin still off its cycle highs, attention is migrating toward assets that feel structurally defensive and easier to underwrite. Bitcoin has gone 115 days without a new all time high and sits nearly 30% below its cycle peak, a setup that can accelerate rotation trades. XAUT mindshare jumped 164% in a single day as interest surged. Metals exposure remains uneven, with PAXG available on Hyperliquid while silver still lacks a comparable metal backed token. The gap matters.
