This week, the tokenized precious metals market is showing anomalous activity from major players. On-chain analytics data records a sharp increase in the outflow of Tether Gold (XAUT) from centralized exchanges — the metric has surged to values 16 times higher than the daily average.
Asset management company Abraxas Capital has withdrawn approximately 3,931 XAUT from four major trading platforms, equivalent to about $15.96 million. The transactions were distributed as follows: 760.244 XAUT ($3.09 million) from Bitfinex, 940.207 XAUT ($3.82 million) from OKX, 230 XAUT ($934,000) from Bybit, and 2,001 XAUT ($8.12 million) from Binance.
Return of the "Sleeping" Whale
Particularly noteworthy is the activity of an anonymous wallet (0xD20E), which resumed accumulating XAUT after a three-year hiatus. Over the past three days, 953 tokens worth approximately $3.93 million were withdrawn from Binance. This behavior is typical of large holders who prefer to store assets in a personal wallet rather than on an exchange, signaling long-term intentions.
According to aggregated data from Nansen, the net outflow of XAUT from exchanges over the past 24 hours amounted to $17.4 million — roughly 16 times the average daily figure. Over a seven-day period, the outflow exceeded $34.1 million, which is four times the average weekly value.
Mixed Picture
However, the overall picture is not so clear-cut. Despite large-scale withdrawals, some major holders are simultaneously reducing their positions. Two of the largest tracked wallets (0x77134c and 0x28c6c0) have decreased their balances by more than 5,000 XAUT each over the past 30 days. One participant withdrew about 2,900 XAUT ($11.8 million) in a single day, while another reduced their balance by 757 tokens over the same period.
This creates an intriguing dilemma: on one hand, we see a classic accumulation pattern through exchange withdrawals; on the other, profit-taking by some "whales." Such divergent dynamics indicate a lack of consensus among the largest holders regarding the short-term outlook.
Global Context
Interest in tokenized gold is not limited to XAUT alone. Similar net outflows were previously recorded for Paxos Gold (PAXG), confirming a general trend of rising demand for digital analogs of precious metals. It is worth noting that XAUT's dynamics are directly tied to spot gold prices, which showed volatility in July amid geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran.
My expert opinion: The current activity of "whales" is a classic signal of preparation for long-term holding of the asset, rather than speculative trading. However, the divergent actions of the largest holders suggest that the market has not yet decided on a direction. The key trigger for further movement will be signals from the US Federal Reserve on monetary policy — these will determine whether accumulation continues or we see profit-taking on a broader scale.