The crypto community is abuzz after an on-chain investigation by blockchain researcher Eye allegedly connected the mysterious Hyperliquid whale, a trader controlling wallets linked to over 100,000 BTC, to Garrett Jin, the former CEO of the now-defunct exchange BitForex, which collapsed amid fraud allegations.
According to the report shared by Cointelegraph, Eye’s analysis points to the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain ereignis.eth, meaning “event” in German, as the key identifier. The wallet using this ENS name was found to be linked to another handle, garrettjin.eth, which in turn connects directly to Jin’s verified X (Twitter) account, @GarrettBullish.
The researcher said that activity from the wallet aligns with Jin’s previous business patterns, including transfers to staking contracts, interactions with Huobi-funded addresses, and transactions associated with BitForex-related accounts. The same wallet also reportedly sent large sums to Binance deposit addresses used to open massive trades, including a $735 million Bitcoin short position during the recent market crash.
6/ Investigating the ereignis.eth address reveals it has a second ENS name, garrettjin.eth, which leads to the X user @GarrettBullish. pic.twitter.com/WVJswEQLfh
— Eye (@eyeonchains) October 11, 2025
BitForex and the Trail of Unresolved Allegations
Garrett Jin served as BitForex’s CEO between 2017 and 2020, a period during which the exchange was accused of inflating trading volumes and flagged by Japan’s Financial Services Agency for operating without a license. After Jin’s departure, the platform’s troubles deepened, in 2024, $57 million vanished from its hot wallets, withdrawals were halted, and the exchange was eventually shut down following the detention of several team members in China.
Following BitForex’s closure, Jin founded several new ventures, including WaveLabs VC, TanglePay, IotaBee, and GroupFi, though most have since become inactive. In 2024, he launched XHash.com, a staking platform for institutional clients, which investigators now allege may have been used to process suspicious funds. Jin has since removed XHash references from his social media profiles.
Community Reaction: Evidence Too Convenient?
Not everyone is convinced by the findings. Prominent crypto analyst Quinten François questioned the simplicity of the supposed link, arguing that “no one engaged in manipulation would openly tie an ENS name to their verified social media handle.” He described the setup as “way too convenient to be true.”
Still, Eye’s report has reignited questions around the identity of the Hyperliquid whale, and whether one of crypto’s most controversial former exchange executives may now be orchestrating some of the largest leveraged trades in the market’s history.
