Garrett Jin Drops $1.35B in ETH to Binance: A Quiet Exit

by

In the quiet room where the glow of monitors keeps time, a wallet linked to Garrett Jin, founder of the now-defunct Bitforex, sent forth its entire ether and placed it in Binance over four days. The move reads like a reluctant confession: fortunes are made with a glance and unmade with a sigh. Ether, bought with BTC when it was 4,591 dollars per coin, now belongs to a past that seems like a distant rumor.

Over the four days ending May 11, 2026, 577,896 ETH moved to Binance, a sum that amounts to roughly 1.35 billion dollars at current prices. The ETH was acquired by swapping BTC at 4,591 per ETH; the position has since fallen about 49 percent. Yet Jin still holds roughly 9,343 BTC, worth about 757 million dollars at present prices, a stake that remains in view, as if someone had merely shifted chairs in a crowded room.

A $1.35 Billion ETH Offload and a Costly Trade

A wallet attributed to Garrett Jin completed the transfer of its ether holdings to Binance on Sunday. The final batch was 225,627 ETH, worth approximately 528.19 million dollars at current prices, bringing the total deposit over four days to 577,896 ETH, or roughly 1.35 billion dollars.

Onchain data showing Garrett Jin’s remaining 225,627 ETH being deposited into Binance.

The transfer closes the book on what appears to be a costly trade, given Jin swapped his bitcoin holdings for ETH about eight months ago, when ether traded at 4,591 per coin. ETH is now around 2,330, meaning the position has lost roughly 49 percent of its value since acquisition.

The implied loss runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars, though the exact figures depend on the original price Jin received for his bitcoin and any fees incurred across the swap. Onchain data shows Jin still holds approximately 9,343 BTC, worth roughly 757 million dollars at current prices, suggesting the full portfolio remains substantial despite the ETH position’s underperformance.

Bitforex Ties and the Ethereum Exodus

Garrett Jin is best known as the founder of Bitforex, a cryptocurrency exchange that collapsed in 2024. Despite the fall, Jin remains an active onchain participant, with prior massive BTC-to-exchange transfers drawing market attention throughout 2025 and 2026.

The timing is notable, as ethereum has faced pressure from institutional headwinds, including ETF outflows that have fed bearish sentiment around the asset. ETH’s underperformance relative to BTC over the past year has become a familiar story in crypto circles, and Jin’s apparent exit from his ETH position, if confirmed as a sale, would only reinforce that narrative.

Persistent net outflows from ETFs underscore Ethereum’s weakening market performance.

Whether Jin’s Binance deposits translate into spot sales or are parked for other purposes will likely become clearer in the coming days as exchange order flow data is analyzed.

Read More

2026-05-11 14:27