Li Lin, the founder of Huobi and chairman of Hong Kong-based Avenir Capital, is leading a new $1 billion Ether trust along with several of Asia’s most influential early Ethereum investors, according to Bloomberg.
The report, which cites people familiar with the matter, claims that Li has teamed up with Fenbushi Capital co-founder Shen Bo, HashKey Group CEO Xiao Feng and Meitu founder Cai Wensheng to form a digital asset trust designed to accumulate and hold Ether.
The company reportedly includes discussions to acquire a Nasdaq-listed company to structure the vehicle and has already secured about $1 billion in commitments.
That includes about $200 million from Li’s Avenir Capital and $500 million from regional institutional players such as HongShan Capital Group, the sources said. Negotiations are continuing and a formal announcement is expected within the next few weeks.
The move comes as digital asset managers seek to capture institutional interest in ether following the success of US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
Li founded Huobi in 2013 and sold the exchange to entrepreneur Justin Sun following China’s ban on crypto trading in 2021. His Hong Kong-based Avenir Capital has since become one of Asia’s largest holders of Bitcoin ETFs, managing over $1 billion in assets.
CoinGecko data shows 14 publicly listed ether tax companies with total holdings of 4,434,707 ETH ($16.9 billion), the largest being Tom Lee’s BitMine (BMNR.US), which has more than $11 billion worth of ether.
