Trend Research, led by Jack Yi, founder of Liquid Capital, reportedly sold all Ethereum (ETH) holdings, realizing a loss of approximately $747 million.
The large-scale sell-off of Ethereum was conducted amid a continuing downward trend in the cryptocurrency. Altcoins have fallen by over 30% in the past month. Discussions have re-emerged about whether ETH is approaching the market's bottom.
Trend Research sells Ethereum amid market volatility
According to BeInCrypto reports, Trend Research began transferring Ethereum to Binance at the beginning of the month. The on-chain analysis platform Lookonchain confirmed that the company completed all sales yesterday.
Trend Research moved a total of 651,757 ETH (approximately $1.34 billion) to Binance at an average price of $2055. As a result, ETH holdings decreased to 0.0344 ETH (approximately $72).
Data from Arkham Intelligence also supports that almost all of these withdrawals occurred. About $10,000 in USDC and only very small amounts of other token balances could be confirmed.
"Total losses are approximately $747 million," notes Lookonchain.
This withdrawal was based on a leverage strategy utilizing the decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol Aave. Analysts say that Trend Research initially bought ETH on centralized exchanges and deposited it as collateral in Aave.
Subsequently, the company borrowed stablecoins based on collateral and used the funds to purchase additional ETH for reinvestment. This method significantly increased exposure and liquidation risk, leading to a buildup of leveraged positions.
As the price of ETH continued to decline, holdings approached the liquidation limit. To avoid the risk of forced liquidation, Trend Research voluntarily chose to close all positions.
While Trend Research shifted to selling, Bitmine adopted the opposite strategy. Despite growing unrealized losses, they expanded exposure and recently purchased $42 million worth of Ethereum.
Impact on Bitmine and Trend Research when Ethereum hits the bottom
This contrasting strategy is being adopted during a period of heightened market volatility for Ethereum. According to BeInCrypto market data, the cryptocurrency has fallen by 32.4% in the past month.
On February 5, the price of ETH briefly fell below $2000, but then recovered. At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading at $2094.16, having risen about 0.98% in the past 24 hours.
In the midst of the downturn, some analysts point out that Ethereum may be approaching a market bottom. One analyst described Trend Research's withdrawal as the "largest sell-off signal."
"Such forced withdrawals often occur near major lows," stated Mr. Axel.
Joao Wedson, founder of Alphactal, also pointed out that the formation of Ethereum's bottom is several months ahead of Bitcoin. He touched on the tendency for altcoin-specific liquidity cycles to be faster.
According to Mr. Wedson, some indicators on the charts suggest that the second quarter of 2026 could be the bottom for ETH.
"Some charts already show signs that the second quarter of 2026 will be the bottom for ETH. It is expected that panic selling will intensify, leading to a surge in realized losses," added Mr. Wedson.
While it is not confirmed that a bottom has been reached, the possibility could widely influence institutional investor sentiment. While some companies are mitigating risks, there are also movements to continue increasing purchases amid a soft market.
If Ethereum is indeed nearing the bottom of the market, Bitmine's strategy of increasing purchases may give it an advantage in the recovery phase.
On the other hand, if downward pressure continues, Trend Research's decision to withdraw entirely may be seen as a wise action to mitigate risks associated with leverage strategies.
