Huobi Founder Reinvents Himself with $1B Ethereum Trust — A Bid to Redefine His Crypto Legacy

Huobi founder Li Lin is making a comeback — not through another crypto exchange, but by building what he hopes will become Ethereum’s institutional gateway. Partnering with some of Asia’s most influential blockchain investors, Li has launched a $1 billion Ethereum trust designed to offer institutional-grade, regulated exposure to ETH.

The move marks a defining shift in Li’s career — and potentially, in Ethereum’s institutional story. Having helped shape the early exchange era of crypto through Huobi, Li now appears focused on the next frontier: the integration of blockchain into traditional finance.

Unveiled on October 18, the Ethereum trust represents one of the most ambitious ETH-focused investment vehicles to date. While most institutional attention remains fixed on Bitcoin and its growing ETF market, Li Lin’s bet on Ethereum underscores a strategic evolution — positioning ETH not just as a DeFi engine, but as a foundational treasury and infrastructure asset for the digital economy.

Now the chairman of Avenir Capital, Li has rallied a coalition of early Ethereum backers: Shen Bo of Fenbushi Capital, Xiao Feng of HashKey Group, and Cai Wensheng of Meitu Inc. All three have been involved with Ethereum since its early years, making this trust a reunion of veteran believers in the network’s long-term value proposition.

According to information shared with the press, the trust has already secured $1 billion in commitments, including $500 million from HongShan Capital Group, $200 million from Avenir Capital, and the remainder from a network of private investors spanning Asia and the Middle East.

The structure will reportedly be created under a Nasdaq-listed entity, enabling institutional investors — from banks to family offices — to gain exposure to Ethereum through a transparent, regulated vehicle.

Bridging Web3 and Wall Street

For Li Lin, the Ethereum trust is more than a financial product; it’s a strategic pivot toward regulatory legitimacy and institutional alignment. After years operating in crypto’s high-risk, lightly regulated exchange environment, Li’s new mission centers on building bridge infrastructure that connects decentralized assets with global finance.

“The industry has matured. We no longer need to prove that blockchain works — we need to make it work within the world’s financial systems.”

This sentiment reflects a broader institutional trend. Ethereum, once seen as a purely DeFi-native ecosystem, is now being reimagined as a compliance-ready financial substrate capable of supporting real-world asset tokenization, settlement layers, and on-chain fund issuance.

The timing of Li’s Ethereum trust coincides with accelerating institutional recognition of the network’s potential. At the 2025 Digital Asset Summit (DAS) in London, Consensys CEO Joseph Lubin said Ethereum’s progress on scalability, compliance, and interoperability has made it a preferred platform for institutional innovation.

Meanwhile, Joseph Chalom, co-CEO of SharpLink and a former BlackRock executive, described Ethereum as “the cornerstone of the tokenized financial era.” He argued that while Bitcoin remains the ultimate reserve asset, Ethereum is increasingly establishing itself as the operating system for programmable money and institutional finance.

Analysts note that several structural factors are fueling this surge in institutional momentum. The rapid tokenization of real-world assets—ranging from bonds and real estate to carbon credits—is creating new opportunities for capital efficiency and transparency. At the same time, the emergence of on-chain fund management and institutional staking frameworks is enabling traditional financial players to engage with crypto in compliance-ready ways.

Equally important is the development of cross-border compliance protocols, which allow regulated institutions to interact securely with decentralized networks. Together, these advancements form the backbone of what industry experts are calling the “Ethereum Institutional Layer”—a foundation designed to integrate blockchain technology with traditional finance at scale. Li Lin’s billion-dollar trust is one of the first large-scale initiatives to capitalize on this convergence, positioning Ethereum as a critical bridge between decentralized innovation and institutional capital.

By establishing a billion-dollar Ethereum trust, Li Lin and his partners are not merely diversifying investment options — they are reframing Ethereum’s narrative.

Bitcoin, held across more than 170 corporate treasuries worldwide, continues to dominate as a store-of-value asset. Ethereum, however, is carving its own niche as a programmable infrastructure layer underpinning decentralized settlement systems, tokenized securities, and digital financial rails.

If the trust achieves its objectives, it could serve as a template for future institutional products, attracting capital from pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and traditional asset managers seeking compliant ETH exposure. Such vehicles would accelerate Ethereum’s transition from speculative asset to core infrastructure for global finance.

Li Lin’s Legacy 2.0

For Li Lin, this initiative represents more than a financial play — it’s a redefinition of his personal and professional legacy. Once associated with the hyper-competitive exchange wars of early crypto, Li is now repositioning himself as a builder of bridges between the old and new financial orders.

The Ethereum trust marks his second act: a move away from trading volatility and toward structured value creation. It also reflects a growing recognition that the next phase of blockchain adoption won’t be led by retail traders, but by institutions demanding regulatory clarity, transparency, and compliance-grade exposure.

If successful, Li’s billion-dollar Ethereum trust could become a landmark in Ethereum’s institutional journey, reshaping how global investors engage with digital assets. And for Li himself, it may cement a new legacy — one not built on volume and speculation, but on structure, credibility, and long-term vision.

In a market still dominated by Bitcoin ETFs and retail speculation, Li Lin’s $1 billion Ethereum trust offers a glimpse into crypto’s next chapter — one defined by institutional structure, regulatory discipline, and strategic vision.

By placing Ethereum at the heart of this transformation, Li isn’t just betting on the blockchain’s future — he’s helping write the next chapter of its history.