The post Ether Whale Trend Research Cuts Holdings as DeFi Loan Pressure Mounts appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

ETH price drop pushed Trend Research to sell Ether and repay DeFi loans, shrinking a large leveraged position. The ETH markets faced fresh pressure after a major whale moved to cut risk and repay debt. According to onchain observers, Trend Research, known for its large Ethereum position, began dumping the coin as prices slid. During the sell-off, sales were routed through centralized exchanges to close DeFi loans.  Trend Research Pulls Back on Ether After Leveraged Strategy Falters Trend Research became one of the active corporate ETH holders after ramping up buying towards the end of last year. Onchain trackers first flagged activity in November, when wallets linked to the firm started building size at speed.  Trend Research is also selling $ETH to repay its loan on Aave. Over the past 20 hours, they deposited 33,589 $ETH($79M) into #Binance, then withdrew 77.5M $USDT to repay the debt. They still hold 618,045 $ETH($1.4B).https://t.co/e2L0pYGex3 pic.twitter.com/OOzFqpiqxk — Lookonchain (@lookonchain) February 2, 2026 Holdings crossed 600,000 ETH before year end, placing the entity among the largest private owners. Attention intensified as prices weakened across the crypto market. Links tie Trend Research to Yi Lihua, also known as Jack Yi, founder of Hong Kong crypto venture firm Liquid Capital. As per data from LookOnChain, Ether holdings peaked near 651,000 wrapped ETH on Jan. 21.  And following a series of debt repayments, balances fell to about 578,058 ETH by Monday morning. Analysts say sales appeared to be driven by loan risk rather than by profit-taking. Yi built the position by borrowing against his Ethereum holdings. He used stablecoins from those loans to buy more ETH. The approach worked while prices were rising. But it weakened after the coin dropped below $2,200. Lower collateral values increased the risk of liquidations across lending platforms. Move Aimed at Adjusting Collateral…

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Filed under: News - @ February 3, 2026 11:28 am