$1B Ethereum DAT led by Asian investors shelved due to market downturn

4 Min Read
4 Min Read
Editorial you can trust Content is reviewed by leading industry experts and experienced editors. Advertising disclosure

As reported by Wu Blockchain, the ongoing Asian Ethereum DAT project has been canceled following the downward price trajectory.

Ethereum DAT project by Asia’s leading whale has been shut down

Last month, Bloomberg reported that some influential investors in Asia are gearing up to launch an Ethereum trust. The group included Li Lin, founder of cryptocurrency exchange Huobi, Shen Bo, co-founder of Fenbushi Capital, and Xiao Feng, chairman and CEO of HashKey Group.

At the time, investors were in talks to acquire the NASDAQ-listed company to facilitate a digital asset treasury (DAT) structure, and the project already boasted $1 billion in backing.

However, according to a report from Wu Blockchain, that project has now been canceled. “The USD 1 billion Ethereum DAT proposed by Asia’s leading crypto investor has been shelved and the pledged capital returned,” Wu Blockchain wrote.

Of the $1 billion in support, $200 million came solely from Avenir Capital, an investment firm chaired by Huobi’s Li. An additional $500 million was provided by Asian institutional investors including HongShan Capital Group.

DAT companies, popularized by Michael Saylor’s Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), are public institutions whose primary business is the preparation of digital assets. Previously, companies were primarily focused on using Bitcoin in this type of strategy, but 2025 will see entry into altcoins such as Ethereum and Solana.

BitMine, currently the largest ETH DAT and second largest overall after Strategy, adopted the ETH Reserve Strategy in June of this year. According to a press release on Monday, the company holds 3,559,879 tokens, which were purchased for a total of $11.1 billion.

See also  The Crypto Whale is dumping Cardano's Ethereum - what's behind the shift?

Unlike BitMine, the Asian-led DAT project appears to have been canceled before it even started. “According to sources, the plan was canceled mainly due to the market downturn following the October 11 crash,” Wu Blockchain revealed.

Since this crash, Ethereum, like the entire crypto sector, has fallen sharply, with its price down more than 38% compared to its October high. As a result, Bitmine’s stock holdings went under water. At current exchange rates, the company’s holdings are valued at $10.3 billion, approximately 7% lower on a cost basis.

As CryptoQuant community analyst Maartunn pointed out in his X post, the average cost basis (“realized price”) for the entire ETH network is $2,316.

Ethereum realized price

The trend in the ETH Realized Price over the last few years | Source: @JA_Maartun on X

Taking this into account, the average investor would still be earning about 24%. Previously, when Ethereum was trading near all-time highs, profitability reached extreme levels. Compared to that, it cooled down a bit. “Momentum is starting to cool off as the market takes a breather,” Martin said.

ETH price

Ethereum has fallen another 5% over the past day, dropping the price to $2,880.

bitcoin price chart

ETH has been facing bearish momentum in recent days | Source: ETHUSDT on TradingView

Dall-E, Featured Image from CryptoQuant.com, Chart from TradingView.com

Share This Article
Leave a comment