Li Lin, the founder of Huobi and chairman of Hong Kong-based Avenir Capital, is spearheading a new $1 billion ether trust alongside several of Asia’s most influential early Ethereum investors, according to Bloomberg.
The report, which cites people familiar with the matter, claims 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 venture reportedly includes discussions to acquire a Nasdaq-listed company to structure the vehicle and has already secured roughly $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. Talks remain ongoing, with a formal announcement expected within the next few weeks.
The move comes as digital-asset managers look to capture institutional interest in ether following the success of U.S. Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
Li founded Huobi in 2013 and sold the exchange to entrepreneur Justin Sun after China’s crypto trading ban 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 that 14 publicly listed ether treasury companies with combined holdings of 4,434,707 ETH ($16.9 billion), the largest being Tom Lee’s BitMine (BMNR.US) that holds more than $11 billion worth of ether.