Trend Research Acquires $63 Million in Ethereum and Secures $40 Million Loan

Trend Research recently withdrew 20,850 ETH, valued at $63.28 million, from Binance last Sunday, subsequently borrowing an additional $40 million in USDT via the lending platform Aave. This move indicates that the institution is aggressively adding to its holdings as Ethereum trades near the $3,000 mark.

Key Takeaways

Trend Research has acquired 20,850 ETH worth $63 million and borrowed $40 million in USDT.
The total Ethereum holdings now stand at 601,074 ETH, valued at $1.83 billion.
BitMine Immersion Technologies has staked $1 billion in ETH within two days, securing its position as the largest Ethereum treasury holder.
Predictions suggest Ethereum's total value locked (TVL) could increase tenfold by 2026, driven by rising stablecoin issuance and tokenized assets.
The current market dynamics show a bullish trend for ETH as it navigates through short trading pressures, while recent sales from ETHZilla indicate a shifting strategy away from aggressive accumulation.

Trend Research Acquires $63 Million in Ethereum and Secures $40 Million Loan

The institutional division of Easy Come Easy Go now holds a total of 601,074 ETH, equivalent to $1.83 billion spread across five separate wallets. They have taken out loans totaling $958 million in stablecoins, purchasing at an average price of around $3,265 per token, based on insights from on-chain analyst Ai Auntie.

This new round of purchases coincides with a bullish shift in Ethereum's staking dynamics, which have flipped positively for the first time in six months.

Continuous Accumulation by BitMine

Tom Lee's BitMine Immersion Technologies has added another $780 million in ETH, raising its two-day tally to $1 billion. This consolidation strengthens BitMine's status as the largest Ethereum treasury holder, now commanding 4.07 million ETH.

On December 21, the company revealed that it controls 3.37% of Ethereum’s total supply, approaching its goal of 5% while holding $1 billion in cash and 193 Bitcoin on its balance.

Recently, BitMine’s stock, BMNR, has become one of the most actively traded equities in the United States, with an impressive daily trading volume averaging $1.7 billion over the last five days, ranking just behind Wells Fargo and above Chevron.

This rise in staking activity builds on earlier sustained accumulation efforts, as BitMine added 98,852 ETH within just the past week, surpassing the 4 million ETH mark only 5.5 months after starting its buying strategy.

As highlighted by DeFi analyst Abdul, approximately 70% of the 5% of Ethereum's supply that shifted hands since July has been absorbed by BitMine, compensating for significant unstaking in September related to the staking provider Kiln after an exploit involving SwissBorg.

Institutional Outlook for Ethereum’s Future

Joseph Chalom, co-CEO of Sharplink Gaming and the second-largest public Ethereum treasury holder with 797,704 ETH, forecasts a massive potential increase in Ethereum's total value locked (TVL). He posits that it could rise to tenfold by 2026, coinciding with stablecoin issuance reaching $500 billion and tokenized real-world assets achieving $300 billion.

Chalom expects that sovereign wealth funds will greatly augment their Ethereum positions, possibly increasing their tokenization investments 5 to 10 times within the next year due to growing competitive pressures among large allocators.

He commented, "With over half of all stablecoin activity occurring on Ethereum, consistent issuance and transaction growth could significantly uplift the network’s TVL."

Currently, Ethereum's TVL stands at around $68.2 billion, and the token is trading near $3,000 after a 6% increase in the past month.

From a technical standpoint, analyst Ted Pillows pointed out that a daily closing price above $3,000 could guide Ethereum towards the $3,200 - $3,400 range. In contrast, failing to reclaim this price zone could negate the recent market gains.

Ethereum's recovery is demonstrating resilience against short traders. Data from LookOnChain highlights a “smart trader,” identified as pension-usdt.eth, who has an 83% win rate across 70 trades, recently exited an ETH short position, incurring a $3.4 million loss after initiating a 3× short on 20,000 ETH worth $58.44 million.

Despite a promising outlook for adoption, Ether remains down by over 12% in the past twelve months. Some analysts believe that it may take time for the token to reach new highs due to the broader market conditions influenced by Bitcoin's cycles.

Meanwhile, ETHZilla, backed by Peter Thiel, is beginning to unwind its aggressive Ethereum treasury strategy, having recently sold $74.5 million worth of ETH, signaling a strategic shift from pure crypto accumulation.