Li Lin, founder of Huobi and chairman of Hong Kong-based Avenir Capital, is spearheading a new $1 billion ether Ethereum$3,803.98 According to Bloomberg, it ranks alongside some of Asia's most influential early Ethereum investors.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the report alleges that Li worked with Fenbushi Capital co-founder Shen Bo, Hushkey Group CEO Xiao Feng, and Meitu founder Cai Wensheng to set up a digital asset trust aimed at accumulating and holding Ether.
The venture reportedly includes talks to acquire a Nasdaq-listed company to build the vehicle, and has already secured about $1 billion in commitments.
This includes about $200 million from Mr. Li's Avenir Capital and $500 million from regional institutional investors such as Hongshan Capital Group, the people said. Negotiations are still ongoing, with a formal announcement expected in the coming weeks.
The move comes as the digital asset manager seeks to capture institutional investor interest in Ether following the success of the US Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
Li founded Huobi in 2013 and sold the exchange to entrepreneur Justin Sun after China banned crypto trading in 2021. His Hong Kong-based Avenir Capital has since become one of Asia's largest Bitcoin ETF holders, with more than $1 billion in assets under management.
According to data from CoinGecko, the total holdings of 14 publicly traded Ether treasury companies is 4,434,707 ETH ($16.9 billion), with the largest being Tom Lee's Bitmine (BMNR.US), which holds $11 billion worth of Ether.
