Garrett Jin has made a public bullish call on Ethereum, naming the $3,000 area as a key accumulation zone for companies and institutions. In a post on X on Jan. 16, he said corporate capital should be entering ETH now, with staking adding roughly 3% fixed annual yield after purchase.
$3,000 framed as a practical range for corporate ETH allocation
Jin’s argument goes beyond price appreciation. He said Ethereum near $3,000 offers a suitable level for businesses and institutions to build positions, then stake those holdings for yield. In his example, if ETH later rises to $9,000, staking rewards translated into dollar terms could amount to about 9% annualized return. That, in his view, makes ETH less of a pure speculative asset and more of a balance-sheet tool for large holders.
He also argued that even if the market pulls back in the short term, staking income can gradually offset mark-to-market losses measured in fiat. The message was aimed squarely at treasury managers and institutional allocators, not fast-moving traders. His stance was blunt: waiting carries its own cost.
He compared ETH to AI stocks still attracting capital
Jin described Ethereum in terms similar to AI-related equities that continue drawing money despite elevated valuations. He framed the decision as a race against time on valuation, saying institutions that enter later will face a worse risk-reward setup. He summed up the idea with the phrase “Racing with certainty,” presenting the current period as a narrow but important entry window.
The reaction was driven not only by the bullish thesis, but also by Jin’s own profile.
Past exchange controversy and whale speculation amplified the response
Jin previously worked at Huobi, now HTX, as operations director, and later founded BitForex and served as its CEO. BitForex became embroiled in major controversy in 2024, including roughly $57 million in suspected hot-wallet fund outflows, the exchange’s shutdown, and reports that the team was being investigated by Chinese police. Those events left his reputation sharply divided.
His rise in market visibility during the second half of 2025 came from a series of on-chain episodes. Several on-chain analysts linked him to a mysterious whale account on Hyperliquid. That account at one point held more than 100,000 BTC, worth over $10 billion at peak prices, and reportedly rotated heavily from BTC into ETH in August and September 2025, with staking activity reaching about 570,000 ETH.
The most closely watched episode was the so-called “1011 event.” According to the source material, the account opened a $735 million BTC short around 30 minutes before Donald Trump announced additional tariffs on China on Oct. 10 to 11, then increased ETH short exposure as well. Market estimates put the profit from that trade at around $150 million to $200 million, leading to labels such as the “god of shorting.”
Jin has repeatedly denied directly owning the whale capital. He said the assets belonged to clients and were used for hedging, and also denied having any insider relationship with the Trump family.