Trend Research Suffers $686M ETH Loss as Ether Plunge Undermines Leveraged DeFi Bet (TRE: -6.8%)

Trend Research, led by Liquid Capital founder Jack Yi, suffered a $686 million loss as Ethereum (ETH) continued its rapid decline, leaving a $2 billion leveraged ETH bet in tatters. The firm borrowed stablecoins collateralized by ETH from Aave (AAVE), creating a bullish position that blew up as prices fell below $2,000, reaching as low as $1,750 on February 4, 2026. ETH’s slide mirrored broader crypto weakness, prompting Trend Research to liquidate 332,000 ETH over five days to service Aave debt, sending about 332k ETH worth $700 million to Binance. The firm now holds 1.463 ETH. Yi described the sales as risk control, maintaining the view of a future bull market with ETH potentially reaching $10,000 and BTC exceeding $200,000, while emphasizing volatility as the primary driver of crypto performance.