Trend Research purchased 46,379 Ether (ETH) on Wednesday to extend its holdings to around 580,000 ETH, making it larger than most Ethereum public bonds tracked by CoinGecko.
Only two publicly traded firms, SharpLink Gaming and BitMine Immersion Technologies, currently report larger ETH balances at 859,853 ETH and 4,066,062 ETH, respectively.
Trend Research isn’t a publicly traded company and subsequently doesn’t appear in most Ethereum treasury rankings. Nevertheless, it has attracted industry attention attributable to its rapid ETH accumulation.
Trend Research is a secondary investment institution affiliated with LD Capital founder Jack Yi, who’s behind a series of enormous ETH purchases that began in October, blockchain records show.
In a machine translation of Yi's post on Thursday
Trend Research prepares one other $1 billion to purchase ETH | Source: Jack Yi
Rapid accumulation by an unlisted player alongside the general public holdings of Bitmine and SharpLink is driving Ether treasury concentration higher, at the same time as overall market sentiment stays fragile.
Lacie Zhang, research analyst at Bitget Wallet, told Cointelegraph that firms are buying ETH throughout the downturn to convert passive treasuries into “productive, yield-producing infrastructure.” However, unlike retail “dip buying,” corporate accumulation is “often a strategic move for network dominance.”
BitMine’s “Alchemy of 5%”
The buying spree comes as BitMine on Tuesday announced a milestone of greater than 4 million ETH on its balance sheet, representing over 3.3% of circulating supply, solidifying its status as the biggest known publicly traded ETH holder.
BitMine goals to extend its Ether holdings significantly beyond the present 4 million ETH, with a goal of 5% of ETH supply.
It plans to take a position a good portion of those holdings through its “Made in America Validator Network” to generate returns on its long-term bet on Ethereum.
Zhang said that the staking machine was a “key motivator” for BitMine and that by achieving a 5% supply goal, it aimed to “dominate Ethereum’s proof-of-stake consensus,” achieve consistent validation rewards, and effectively “lower its average cost base no matter price trends.”
ETHZilla, FG Nexus and the sellers
Not every balance sheet is correct. ETHZilla, certainly one of the more well-known Ether treasury firms, announced that it sold 24,291 ETH for around $74.5 million to redeem senior secured convertible notes, reducing its holdings to around 69,800 ETH.
FG Nexus, a US-listed holding company focused on specialty finance and insurance, has also liquidated Ether to fund an aggressive share buyback program.
Zhang called the sales an “accounting maneuver,” saying ETHZilla and FG Nexus were liquidating ETH to repay debts or conduct share buybacks when their share price trades at a reduction to their crypto holdings.
She added: “For aggressive buyers, these liquidations represent a 'wealth transfer' from distressed firms to those positioned to own the network's future rails.”
