An onchain investigation conducted by crypto researcher Eye has connected the enigmatic Hyperliquid whale, controlling over 100,000 BTC, to Garrett Jin, the former CEO of the now-defunct exchange BitForex, which has been implicated in a fraud scandal.
In a Saturday post on X, the researcher pointed out that the whale’s primary wallet, ereignis.eth, was linked to another ENS name, garrettjin.eth, which directly leads to Jin’s verified X (Twitter) account, @GarrettBullish.
“The ENS name ereignis.eth (‘event’ in German) verifies his association with this wallet, identifying him as the individual behind the extensive activities on Hyperliquid/Hyperunit,” Eye stated on X.
The wallet’s activity also aligned with Jin’s known business operations, including transfers to staking contracts and addresses associated with exchanges he previously worked with, such as Huobi (HTX).
Additionally, the whale’s wallet had transactions that traced back to BitForex-related addresses and to Binance deposits used for significant trades, including a $735 million Bitcoin (BTC) short.
Related: Trader loses $21M on Hyperliquid after private key leak: How to stay protected
BitForex accused of fraud
Jin led BitForex from 2017 until 2020. The exchange was later accused of inflating trading volumes and flagged by Japan’s Financial Services Agency for operating without proper registration.
By 2024, BitForex had lost $57 million from its hot wallets, halted withdrawals, and ultimately ceased operations after its team was detained in China. Hong Kong’s SFC later issued a warning for suspected fraud, with users claiming millions in unrecovered funds.
After BitForex’s downfall, Jin started several ventures, including WaveLabs VC (2020), TanglePay (2021), IotaBee (2022), and GroupFi (2023). Most of these projects have since become inactive.
In 2024, he launched XHash.com, a platform aimed at institutional Ethereum staking, which investigators suggest may have been used to funnel questionable funds. After these allegations emerged, Jin reportedly deleted XHash from his social media biography, although it remains visible on his Telegram account.
Related: MetaMask, Infinex tap Hyperliquid to challenge CEXs in perps market
Not everyone is convinced
Crypto analyst Quinten François voiced skepticism regarding the accusations linking the Hyperliquid whale to the former BitForex CEO, suggesting the evidence may be overly convenient.
“Why would you have an .eth name directing to your X handle in a wallet that directly links to market manipulation wallets and wallets involved in other crimes?” he questioned on X, adding that such a configuration “sounds far too simplistic to be accurate.”
Magazine: Worldcoin’s less ‘dystopian,’ more cypherpunk rival — Billions Network
