Trend Research Slashes Ether Holdings After Market Crash to Repay Loans
Trend Research just made a brutal move—liquidating a chunk of its Ether stash to cover its debts. It's the crypto equivalent of pawning the family silver after a bad bet.
The Liquidation Logic
When prices tank, leveraged positions scream for margin. Trend's playbook was simple: sell assets to repay loans and avoid getting liquidated by the protocol itself. It's defensive finance 101, but it screams of prior over-exposure.
A Signal or Just Noise?
One firm's fire sale isn't a market forecast. But it highlights the fragile house of cards built on borrowed money during bull runs. The 'smart money' sometimes just means 'first to the exit when the alarm sounds.'
This is how deleveraging cycles start—one forced sale at a time. It adds sell-side pressure, potentially fueling the very downturn it's trying to escape. A classic, cynical finance trap: using volatility to get rich, then getting wrecked by it.
Ether Drops Nearly 30% in a Week Before Partial Rebound
The movements coincided with a steep decline in Ether’s price, which slid nearly 30% over the past week to a low NEAR $1,748 before recovering to around $1,967.
Trend Research built its position using a Leveraged strategy. The company, linked to Liquid Capital founder Jack Yi, purchased Ether and posted it as collateral on the lending protocol Aave to borrow stablecoins, then used the borrowed funds to buy additional ETH.
The falling market has placed the position under pressure. According to Lookonchain, the firm faces several potential liquidation levels between $1,698 and $1,562, meaning further price declines could trigger automatic collateral sales on the lending platform.
Three major on-chain liquidation zones on $ETH.
Trend Research holds 356,150 $ETH($671M), with liquidation prices between $1,562 and $1,698.
Joseph Lubin and two unknown whales hold 293,302 $ETH($553M), with liquidation prices between $1,329 and $1,368.
7 Siblings holds… pic.twitter.com/GFwEAZSodC
Yi acknowledged in a post on X that his earlier call on the market bottom came too soon but said he remains optimistic and will continue managing risk while waiting for a recovery.
Trend Research first drew attention after the $19 billion crypto liquidation cascade in October 2025, when it began aggressively accumulating Ether.
At one point in December, the firm WOULD have ranked among the largest holders of ETH globally, although it does not appear on most public corporate treasury trackers because it is privately held.
BitMine’s $7B Paper Loss Tests Corporate Ethereum Treasury Strategy
BitMine Immersion Technologies, led by Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, is also under pressure after Ether’s sharp decline pushed the company deep into unrealized losses.
With roughly 4.28 million ETH on its balance sheet, the firm is sitting on more than $7 billion in paper losses after the token fell near $2,100.
The company had accumulated its holdings at much higher prices, making it one of the largest single-asset corporate bets in crypto.
The firm shifted from bitcoin mining to an “Ethereum-first” treasury model in 2025, buying ETH at an estimated $3,800–$3,900 average.
The market downturn has dragged down both its portfolio and stock price, drawing comparisons to Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin-heavy Strategy, which is also facing sizable unrealized losses.
Analysts say both companies highlight the risk of concentrated crypto treasury strategies tied to volatile assets.
Despite the drawdown, Lee remains confident. He argues Ethereum’s fundamentals are strengthening, pointing to record transaction activity and rising active addresses.
The company now holds about 3.55% of Ethereum’s supply and is targeting 5% while expanding staking operations.
Nearly $6.7 billion worth of ETH is staked, and BitMine plans to launch its Made in America Validator Network in 2026.
