Hyperliquid Whale Linked to Former BitForex CEO Garrett Jin After Onchain Investigation
A major revelation has emerged in recent crypto news: an onchain investigation has identified Garrett Jin, the former CEO of BitForex, as the mysterious Hyperliquid whale controlling over 100,000 BTC. The probe, led by crypto researcher Eye, has triggered heated debates across the blockchain technology and crypto pur communities regarding market manipulation and the ever-blurring lines between high-stakes trading and ethical conduct.
Onchain analysis connects Jin to Hyperliquid whale
The investigation originated from wallet activity analysis on the Hyperliquid platform, a decentralized derivatives trading venue. The whale’s main wallet, identified as ereignis.eth, was found to be linked to another Ethereum Name Service (ENS) address, garrettjin.eth, which corresponds to Jin’s verified social media account @GarrettBullish. This clear connection led researchers to suspect Jin orchestrated massive transactions, including recent $4.23 billion BTC-to-ETH trades and a $735 million Bitcoin short timed just before major geopolitical developments rocked the blockchain markets.
Further scrutiny revealed the wallet’s activity matched Jin’s historical business footprints including transfers to staking contracts and addresses funded from exchanges such as Huobi (HTX), BitForex, and Binance. In particular, BitForex had faced withdrawal freezes after $57 million vanished from hot wallets, ultimately leading to its collapse amid regulatory crackdowns and user losses.
BitForex’s troubled legacy
Garrett Jin’s crypto journey has been turbulent. After leading BitForex from 2017 to 2020, he weathered accusations of falsified trading volumes and unlicensed operations in Japan. The exchange’s shutdown in 2024 left millions of dollars in unrecovered funds, prompting fraud warnings from Hong Kong regulators. Post-collapse, Jin launched platforms like WaveLabs VC, TanglePay, IotaBee, GroupFi, and XHash.com most of which are now inactive or under scrutiny for suspicious activity.
Allegations suggest XHash.com, designed for institutional Ethereum staking, may have played a role in onboarding questionable funds, raising wider concerns about the integration of legacy exchange assets with blockchain-based staking protocols.
Skeptics challenge direct attribution
Despite compelling circumstantial evidence, the crypto community remains divided. Well-known analysts such as Quinten François and ZachXBT have raised doubts about the investigation’s conclusions, arguing that the chain of links to Jin may be “too convenient” and that attribution in a pseudonymous ecosystem is rarely as straightforward as it appears. François questions why an actor involved in market manipulation would publicly associate an ENS name with their verified X (Twitter) handle, while ZachXBT suggested the real owner might be an associate or a network of entities rather than Jin alone.
Market impact and ongoing scrutiny
The timing of the whale’s large-scale trades especially the massive short order ahead of President Trump’s recent tariff announcement has amplified speculation about possible market manipulation and insider action in the crypto sector. As onchain sleuthing becomes more sophisticated and blockchain data ever more transparent, the role of blockchain technology in exposing yet complicating hidden market dynamics will only intensify.
For the crypto pur community, these revelations highlight both the power and limitations of onchain transparency in identifying actors behind the largest transactions on blockchain networks. The convergence of exchange collapse, regulatory intrigue, and strategic trading seen in Jin’s trajectory is reshaping the conversation around crypto accountability and governance.
Conclusion
The latest investigation linking the Hyperliquid whale to Garrett Jin underscores the ongoing challenges of attributing identity and intent on blockchain networks. As crypto adoption grows, regulatory watchdogs, technical researchers, and market participants alike will be closely monitoring how blockchain transparency impacts justice and innovation within the digital asset universe. This story remains a focal point in crypto news, serving as a case study for the evolving relationship between blockchain technology, trust, and market influence.