A $735 million
short position opened just 30 minutes before former U.S. President Donald Trump's October 10 tariff announcement has sparked intense scrutiny of Hong Kong-based crypto trader Garret Jin, with allegations of insider trading swirling on social media and blockchain analysis platforms. The trade, executed via decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, netted an estimated $150 million profit as Bitcoin plummeted from $68,000 to under $60,000 in hours. Jin, founder of the now-defunct exchange BitForex, denied the claims, asserting the move was based on "economic analysis" and client funds, not privileged information [2].
Blockchain sleuth EyeOnChain traced the short to Jin's
Name Service (ENS) domain, garrettjin.eth, linking it to a wallet that later closed the position. The controversy escalated when Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) amplified the claims by sharing the analysis with his 10 million X followers. Jin responded, stating he had "no connection with the Trump family" and emphasizing that the funds belonged to clients, not himself. He also cited rising U.S.-China trade tensions and overbought market signals as the basis for the short [3].Jin's history with regulatory issues adds fuel to the debate. BitForex, his former exchange, collapsed in 2024 after $56 million in customer deposits vanished, though Jin was not charged. Post-BitForex, he founded ventures like XHash, an Ethereum staking platform. Critics argue the timing of the short-executed as Trump's tariff threat loomed-defies coincidence, while defenders note professional traders often hedge before major policy events.
The incident has reignited calls for greater transparency in crypto trading. Jin's public stance frames the short as a calculated risk, but skeptics highlight the 30-minute gap between the trade and Trump's announcement as evidence of prior knowledge. A separate investigation by on-chain detective Eye suggested Jin might be a "front" for a larger insider network, implicating figures like Zach Witkoff and Chase Herro of Trump-linked World Liberty Financial. Eye later withdrew from the probe, citing safety concerns .
The crash erased $19 billion in leveraged positions and exposed vulnerabilities in high-leverage crypto markets. Hyperliquid absorbed over $10 billion in liquidations, drawing comparisons to past flash crashes. Regulators and industry leaders are now under pressure to address gaps in oversight, particularly for decentralized exchanges. Whether Jin's actions were legitimate strategy or a breach of ethics remains unresolved, but the episode underscores crypto's precarious balance between innovation and accountability.
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