important notes
- The average cost of an ETH position at Trend Research is $3,265, and it borrowed $958 million in stablecoins on Aave to buy Ether.
- The company holds $1.8 billion in ETH collateral held in Aave’s interest-bearing token, AETHWETH.
- Recent activity on December 29th included two 20 million USDT loans on Aave, both deposited to Binance addresses, followed by one ETH withdrawal.
Investment firm Trend Research holds a long spot position in Ethereum. Ethereum $2,914 24 hour volatility: 0.8% Market capitalization: 35.652 billion dollars Vol. 24 hours: $2.341 billion Earn approximately $1 billion in nominal value by depositing ETH collateral, borrowing stablecoins, purchasing Ether, and redepositing to Aave. ghost $150.4 24 hour volatility: 2.7% Market capitalization: $23.1 billion Vol. 24 hours: $218.66 million For high-confidence play with leverage.
This long position was discovered and reported by Lookonchain on December 29th and its activity dates back to October 2025.
According to a recent post on X, Trend Research has borrowed $958 million in stablecoins from Aave for its goals.
Trend Research (@Trend_Research_) continues to borrow $USDT to purchase $ETH.
Trend Research currently holds 601,074 $ETH ($1.83 billion) and owes a total of $958 million in stablecoins from #Aave.
Based on the on-chain $ETH withdrawal price from #Binance, the average purchase price is… pic.twitter.com/MLNVeN8r2l
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) December 29, 2025
The company leverages Ethereum’s DeFi protocol by depositing ETH as collateral and borrowing stablecoins on Aave.
You then use the borrowed stablecoin to buy Ether on Binance, withdraw the purchased ETH to an on-chain address, and redeposit a portion back to Aave to collateralize further leveraged positions and increase your ability to borrow.
Related article: Ethereum on the road to $8,500? Analysts confirm preparations for massive rally
According to Lookonchain, Trend Research estimates the average dollar cost of purchasing ETH to be $3,265.
How does Trend Research take long positions on ETH?
At the time of writing, the company holds over 600,000 ETH deposited in Aave, which equates to a position worth $1.8 billion at the current price of $2,993 per ether.
This will be held in the form of AETHWETH, an interest-bearing token issued by Aave when users make loan deposits, which can later be redeemed by withdrawing collateral, Arkham said.
The recent activity on December 29th started with a withdrawal of 11,520 ETH from Binance, five days after depositing 20 million USDT on the exchange.
This amount was fully deposited into Aave’s loan agreement and used as collateral for the purchase of another 20 million USDT deposited with Binance.
This pattern was repeated by withdrawing 9,330 ETH from Binance, depositing it back into Aave, then borrowing 20 million USDT again and depositing it into Binance.
Trend Research balance and on-chain activity as of December 29, 2025. Source: Arkham Intelligence
ETH has struggled to break above the $3,000 resistance level, a key level that many analysts are watching as a signal of a bullish reversal for the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Analysts believe that if momentum continues, Ethereum could rise as high as $8,500.
Meanwhile, Aave, Ethereum’s main lending and borrowing DeFi protocol, is experiencing a historic moment in terms of governance.
Aave Labs is pushing a “token alignment” proposal in ongoing community discussions, but an initial related proposal failed with record token-weighted participation.
Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing fair and transparent reporting. This article is intended to provide accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Market conditions can change rapidly, so we recommend that you verify the information yourself and consult a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
