Li Lin, founder of Huobi and chairman of Hong Kong-based Avenir Capital, is at the helm of a new billion-dollar 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 that Li 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 approximately $1 billion in commitments.
This 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 continue and an official announcement is expected in the coming 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 after China banned crypto trading in 2021. Hong Kong-based Avenir Capital has since become one of the largest Bitcoin ETF holders in Asia, managing more than $1 billion in assets.
Data from CoinGecko shows that 14 publicly traded ether treasury companies together hold 4,434,707 ETH ($16.9 billion), with the largest being Tom Lee’s BitMine (BMNR.US) which holds over $11 billion worth of ether.
