New Ethereum Whale Emerges as Trend Research Amasses $2.1B in ETH

Price action looks tired.
Smart money doesn’t.

On-chain data shows that Trend Research, the trading firm led by veteran VC Jack Yi (Yi Lihua), has quietly become one of the largest Ethereum holders in the world, offering a sharp counter-narrative to the current wave of market pessimism.

A New Ethereum Whale Emerges

Wallet data tracked by independent analysts confirms that Trend Research now controls approximately 580,000–645,000 ETH, valued at over $2.1 billion at current prices. That places the firm among the top three known ETH-holding entities globally, behind only the Ethereum Foundation and major custodial funds and exchanges.

The accumulation hasn’t slowed. On-chain records show that Trend Research added around $137 million worth of ETH in a single day earlier this week, continuing a buying campaign that has been building steadily since October.

This isn’t passive exposure. It’s aggressive spot accumulation.

Not Talk, Capital

The scale matters. Holdings of this size are not speculative punts; they reflect long-term conviction backed by deep liquidity. According to analysts monitoring the wallets, the firm still appears to have substantial dry powder available.

That lines up with Yi’s own public stance. In a recent post, he described current price weakness as short-term noise and reiterated that Trend Research intends to keep deploying capital into ETH on dips, framing the current range as a structural bottom ahead of the next cycle.

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Why the Market Is Watching This Closely

While retail sentiment has turned cautious following recent drawdowns, Trend Research’s positioning sends a very different signal:

• On-chain accumulation: These are on-chain ETH holdings, not derivatives.
• Timing: Accumulation accelerated during market weakness, not strength.
• Track record: Yi’s firm successfully reduced exposure near prior highs and has historically been early to major cycle turns.

Yi has also publicly framed 2026 as a “major bull market” year, arguing that missing multi-thousand-dollar upside to avoid short-term volatility is a strategic mistake.

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The Bigger Picture

Ethereum narratives may be noisy right now (fees, competition, underperformance versus Solana) but capital flows tell their own story. When one of Asia’s most experienced crypto funds quietly builds a multi-billion-dollar ETH position during drawdowns, it suggests that long-term expectations remain very much intact.

Markets debate.
Whales accumulate.