Former BitForex CEO Linked to 100K BTC Hyperliquid Whale

Crypto researcher Eye has conducted an onchain investigation linking Garett Jin, former CEO of BitForex, to the mysterious Hyperliquid whale controlling over 100,000 BTC. BitForex, now defunct, was previously involved in a scandal with fraud allegations surrounding its closure.

The investigation revealed that the main wallet of the Hyperliquid whale, ereignis.eth, is connected to another ENS name, garrettjin.eth, which directly links to Jin's verified X handle. This connection identifies Jin as the actor behind large-scale operations on Hyperliquid/Hyperunit.

Wallet activity matched Jin's known business dealings, including transfers to staking contracts and addresses funded by exchanges like Huobi (HTX). Additionally, the whale's wallet received and sent funds traceable to BitForex-related addresses and Binance deposits used for massive trades, including a $735 million Bitcoin short.

Jin led BitForex from 2017 to 2020, during which it was flagged by Japan's Financial Services Agency for operating without a license. Last year, BitForex lost $57 million from its hot wallets, leading to user account issues and a fraud warning from Hong Kong's SFC.

After BitForex's collapse, Jin founded several ventures, most of which are now inactive. In 2024, he launched XHash.com, a platform for institutional Ethereum staking, which may have been used for questionable funds. However, not all are convinced of Jin's link to the Hyperliquid whale, prompting calls for further verification.