Garrett Jin, former head of the now-defunct exchange BitForex, denied allegations that he profited from the market drop by allegedly knowing in advance about new US tariffs against China.
On Monday, he published a post on X, stating that he “has no connection to the Trump family” and refuted rumors of insider trading. The accusations were triggered by a report from a researcher under the nickname Eye, who claims that Jin allegedly controlled a crypto wallet from which the whale opened a large short position on Bitcoin.
This order was placed less than an hour before Donald Trump announced a 100% tariff on Chinese goods. The market reacted with a sharp drop in Bitcoin, which only fueled suspicions.
On Saturday, researcher Eye suggested on X that Jin is the very same Hyperliquid whale managing assets worth over 100,000 BTC. In response, Garrett stated that the wallet belongs to his client and criticized former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao for sharing Eye’s post with his 10 million followers, effectively spreading “personal and confidential information”.
Regardless of whether Jin is connected to this address or not, it was from this address that a short position of $735 million was opened. After the tariff announcement, Bitcoin plummeted and briefly reached around $102,000. However, on Sunday, Trump tried to soften his words, posting on social media: “don’t worry about China”.
Despite the loud accusations, some online investigators doubt Eye’s conclusions. Analyst ZachXBT suggested on Saturday that the deals were most likely made by “Jin’s friend” and not Jin himself. Crypto commentator Quentin Francois called the evidence against the former CEO “too convenient”.
Insider Trading Accusations Are Nothing New for the Crypto Market
Insider trading scandals have long been a common backdrop for the industry. More than once, major players have gained access to confidential information about token launches — and made trades at just the right moment.
In March, an unknown trader or group earned over $482,000 on the BUBB coin by opening a position right before the price dropped by almost 50%.
See also: The Bank of Russia proposes tokenization to allow foreigners access to Russian stocks
A similar story happened in January with Trump’s memecoin — Official Trump (TRUMP). Then, one wallet bought tokens worth about $6 million just seconds after launch. This immediately raised questions in the community.
