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Two large Ethereum whales sold a total of $371 million of ETH in 48 hours to repay loans owed to Aave, the largest decentralized lending protocol.
The moves came as Aave handled more than $140 million in automated settlements across multiple networks, highlighting growing caution even among the most heavily capitalized market participants.
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Bitcoin OG sells $292 million of ETH and returns $92.5 million
The whale known as BitcoinOG (1011short), one of the most monitored entities on the chain, Say goodbye 121,185 ETH worth $292 million on Binance in two days. Of those proceeds, the entity withdrew $92.5 million in stablecoins and used it to pay off Aave’s debt.
Despite the massive sale, BitcoinOG remains one of the largest independent cryptocurrency enthusiasts. The wallet still contains 30,661 bitcoins, worth about $2.36 billion, and 783,514 ethereum, worth about $1.78 billion, on the chain, according to Arkham Intelligence data cited by Lookonchain.
It should be noted that only about a third of the Ethereum deposited on Binance went to repay the loan. The rest of $ 200 million can be used for other purposes, such as repositioning, hedging, or building cash reserves – although no other details have been confirmed on the chain.
BitcoinOG first gained notoriety after profiting from a spot sale of Bitcoin before the October 2025 crash. In late January, the entity transferred 148,000 Ethereum to Aave and borrowed $240 million in stablecoins, creating a long leveraged position. The current leverage reduction appears to be a strategic attempt to eliminate this exposure rather than a forced liquidation.
Trend Research gets $79 million out of Etheregy, paying almost all of it
Trend research company InvestmentThe Hong Kong company has implemented a similar process, but it is more compact in operation. During a 20-hour period, the company deposited 33,589 ETH, worth $79 million, on Binance, then withdrew 77.5 million USDT to settle a debt on Aave. Almost the entire amount sold went directly to repaying the loan.
Trend Research still holds 618,045 ETH worth about $1.4 billion. The company, affiliated with LD Capital, has been one of the most aggressive ETH accumulators in recent months, borrowing up to $958 million in stablecoins from Aave to finance purchases at an average entry price of about $3,265 per ETH.
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Founder Jack Yee publicly stated that the company was preparing for a first quarter of 2026 with structurally positive growth. The decision to start paying down debt signals a more cautious stance, even though the company maintains a huge position in ETH.
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Both whales converted ETH to stablecoins via Binance before repaying the Aave loans, but the details reveal different strategies.
| BitcoinOG (short 1011) | Trend research | |
|---|---|---|
| ETH has been sold | 121,185 Ethoth ($292 million) | 33,589 Ethanoth ($79 million) |
| Pay off the debt | Stablecoins worth $92.5 million | 77.5 million USD |
| Refund fee | ~ 31.7% of sales revenue | ~98.1% of sales revenue |
| time frame | Two days | 20 hours |
| Remaining ETH | 783,514 Ethoth ($1.78 billion) | 618,045 ETH ($1.4 billion) |
| Other property | 30,661 Bitcoin ($2.36 billion) | — |
BitcoinOG’s lower payout ratio indicates that the entity is rebalancing investments on several fronts, not just reducing Aave’s exposure. According to Trend Research, he directed nearly every dollar from the sale toward debt settlement—a more focused step toward debt reduction.
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No entity forced these sales. Both acted proactively to minimize risk, a pattern consistent with sophisticated portfolio management during volatile conditions.
Aaves liquidation storm worth $140 million
These voluntary movements took place in a turbulent atmosphere. On January 31, Aave’s automated systems liquidated more than $140 million in collateral across multiple blockchain networks.
Description of Aave founder, Stani Kulichov The event is a major stress test For chain loan markets over $50 billion. “The Aave Protocol has cleared more than $140 million in multiple networks without any problems, fully automated,” wrote Kulichov on X.
It is important to distinguish between the two types of activities. The liquidation of $140 million happened automatically on January 31 – as the value of the collateral of the loans fell below the required thresholds. The $371 million write-down on February 1-2 was voluntary – proactive decisions to sell assets and pay off loans before liquidation risks.
Both events occurred within the same 48-hour window, but reflect different mechanisms. The automated filtering operation demonstrates the flexibility of Aave towards the protocol. Whale payments reveal how large holders actively manage risk in the face of the potential for further downside.
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Aave’s ETH deposits hit a record high
Despite the market turmoil, Aave’s fundamentals remain strong. ETH deposits have arrived on the protocol at its highest level ever In early January, it surpassed 3 million ETH and approached 4 million ETH, according to Token Terminal data.
Aave currently leads all DeFi protocols in terms of the total value closed and ranked first in the list of the Top 10 Protocols of DeFiLlama at the beginning of 2026. The ability of the protocol to handle large-scale settlements without the risk of failure or manual intervention stands out from the competitors.
What does that mean
A simultaneous drawdown reduction by two of the largest European profit holders on the chain sends a clear signal: even the most optimistic whales will reduce their exposure to risk in February 2026. Both BitcoinOG and Trend Research occupy huge positions – more than $3 billion in total ETH holdings – but choose to reduce leverage instead of riding volatility.
For the broader market, the key question is whether this represents cautious behavior or the early stages of a broader shift toward risk aversion among DeFi participants on an institutional scale.
