Asset prices are based on what people believe the future will bring. If the price drops because of some event, and you haven’t traded, you have the same asset a

Asset prices are based on what people believe the future will bring. If the price drops because of some event, and you haven’t traded, you have the same asset as before and only its price has changed. You’re poorer than you thought, but nobody gained anything from you. (You haven’t traded!) People just changed their minds about the price. It’s the same going up. When you trade, that’s different. If you sell at a higher price then the gain comes from the new buyer. If the price goes down then you lost some of what you paid to the previous seller. Also, in this case, there are loans. Someone had Ethereum and lended it out. They got paid interest, but lost out on gains that they could have had if they didn’t make the loan. (They could have gotten more money from a buyer later.)