Trend Research has nearly liquidated its massive Ethereum position, withdrawing 792,532 ETH worth $2.59 billion from Binance at an average price of $3,267 before depositing 772,865 ETH valued at $1.8 billion back to the exchange at $2,326. This fire sale resulted in a staggering $747 million realized loss, leaving the firm with just 21,301 ETH ($43.92 million at current levels). The moves accelerated amid ETH's 30% weekly plunge to lows near $1,748, forcing deleveraging to avert margin calls. Liquidation Pressure and Loan Repayments The entity, known for heavy ETH leverage, faced liquidation thresholds between $1,430 and $1,627 across multiple addresses, with an average around $1,640. Since February 1, Trend Research sold over 411,075 ETH for a combined $4.22 billion loss, offloading 62% of peak holdings while servicing $526 million in debt. In the past 10-12 hours alone, it dumped 170,033 to 216,075 ETH ($322.5 million), retaining about 293,121 ETH initially before further cuts. Deposits to Binance totaled 235,588 ETH to fund repayments, per Lookonchain monitoring. Market Impact and Broader Context This unwind contributed to ETH's bear market regime, with prices breaking below key EMAs and triggering $2.5 billion in broader crypto liquidations. On-chain analysts like Ai Ye noted the self-reinforcing sell pressure from remaining 396,000 ETH (pre-final dump), exacerbating downside as ETH traded under $2,300. Similar whales faced pain: a ”Hyperunit whale” lost $250 million on leveraged longs, and another shed 9,485 ETH for $24.27 million hit. Trend Research's actions highlight risks of high-leverage ETH bets amid macro headwinds like Fed policy and stock correlations. ETH now eyes $1,725 support; a hold could stabilize, but further dumps risk sub-$1,600. The episode underscores disciplined risk management in volatile cycles.
