An on-chain investigation by crypto researcher Eye has linked the mysterious whale Hyperliquid, which controls over 100,000 BTC, to Garrett Jin, former CEO of BitForex, a now-defunct exchange embroiled in a fraud scandal.
In a Saturday post on
“The ENS name ereignis.eth (“event” in German) confirms its link to this wallet, identifying it as the actor behind the large-scale operations in Hyperliquid/Hyperunit,” Eye wrote in X.
The wallet activity also coincided with Jin’s known dealings, including transfers to staking contracts and addresses funded by exchanges with which he had previous ties, such as Huobi (HTX).
Additionally, the whale wallet received and sent funds tracing back to BitForex-related addresses and Binance deposits used to open massive trades, including a short of $735 million in Bitcoin (BTC).
Related: Trader Loses $21 Million on Hyperliquid After Private Key Leaks: How to Stay Protected
BitForex accused of fraud
Jin ran BitForex from 2017 to 2020. The exchange was subsequently accused of falsifying trading volumes and flagged by the Japan Financial Services Agency for operating without registration.
In 2024, BitForex lost $57 million from its active wallets, froze withdrawals, and eventually shut down after its team was detained in China. The Hong Kong SFC subsequently issued a warning for suspected fraud and users claimed millions in unrecovered funds.
Following the collapse of BitForex, Jin founded several companies, including WaveLabs VC (2020), TanglePay (2021), IotaBee (2022), and GroupFi (2023). Since then, most of these projects have become dormant.
In 2024, he launched XHash.com, a platform for institutional Ethereum staking, which investigators say may have been used to embed questionable funds. After the allegations surfaced, Jin reportedly deleted XHash from his social media bio, although it remains visible on his Telegram account.
Related: MetaMask and Infinex turn to Hyperliquid to challenge CEXs in the criminal market
Not everyone is convinced
Crypto analyst Quinten François expressed skepticism over claims linking the Hyperliquid whale to the former BitForex CEO, arguing that the evidence may be too convenient.
“Why would you have an .eth name leading to your X identifier on a wallet that connects directly to market manipulation wallets and wallets for other crimes?” he wrote in X, adding that such a setup “sounds too simple to be true.”
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