100,000 BTC Whale on Hyperliquid Linked to Former BitForex CEO

A crypto researcher, known as Eye on X, has conducted an on-chain analysis that traced the Hyperliquid whale to former BitForex CEO Garrett Jin. In a series of posts, Eye backed up his claims by explaining how he arrived at his conclusions.

Whale Moves $4.23 Billion in Bitcoin to Ethereum

Notably, the Hyperliquid whale holds over 100,000 BTC, and he recently offloaded more than $4.23 billion worth of Bitcoin to purchase Ethereum (ETH). Eye connected a lot of crypto movements, both Bitcoin and Ethereum, to different wallets and entities. He claimed these were all linked to Jin via Ethereum Name Service (ENS) records.

As per the investigation, the whale sold over 35,000 BTC between August and September and invested in Ethereum. This was done through spot and perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid. He then staked over 570,000 ETH via the Beacon Deposit Contract, which indicated that he was playing a long-term trade.

Meanwhile, the whale also bet against Bitcoin by opening a $735 million short position on the same platform. The different trade moves emphasize that this whale is an institutional actor with great insights into the market.

ENS Records Allegedly Link Wallets to Garrett Jin

Eye, the crypto researcher, backed up his allegations by tracing Bitcoin wallets linked to the whale and Ethereum wallets where proceeds were either deposited or staked. Eye asserted that funding trails linked ETH staking contracts to a wallet connected to “ereignis.eth”, which also owns “garrettjin.eth.”

This serves as a key connection to Garrett Jin. Worth mentioning is that Jin headed BitForex between 2017 and 2020. At one time, Japan’s Financial Services Agency flagged BitForex for falsifying trading volumes and operating without proper registration.

BitForex lost about $57 million in 2024 from its hot wallets. The platform decided to freeze withdrawals and eventually shut down after its team was arrested in China. Many of its users have been unable to recover their funds, with some alleging that they were victims of suspected fraud.

Community Reacts to Bold Allegations

Garrett Jin currently holds 46,295 BTC valued at over $5.19 billion in several wallet addresses, according to Eye.

However, Eye’s investigation and allegation have faced scrutiny, with some users dismissing it.  A user, Quinten, argued that it does not sound plausible to have an .eth name leading to one’s X handle. Particularly as the wallet directly connects to market manipulation wallets, a move he considers too unusual for Jin.

Others consider the whole investigation as looking for a scapegoat.