7,000 ETH Moved to Exchanges as Crypto Faces a Potential $1.3 Billion Earthquake

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As an analyst with over two decades of experience in the financial industry, I find myself closely monitoring the recent movements of cryptocurrencies seized from the infamous PlusToken Ponzi scheme. With my background rooted in uncovering hidden patterns and trends, I can’t help but notice the striking similarities between the liquidation of Bitcoin and Ether seized from this scheme.

Approximately a large amount of the vast cryptocurrency assets confiscated from the PlusToken Ponzi scam is said to be being sold, according to findings by OXT Research analyst ErgoBTC. It’s been suggested that around 7,000 Ether, equating to approximately $16.7 million, has recently been transferred to cryptocurrency exchanges. This could indicate the process of liquidating the entire $1.3 billion in Ethereum seized from the scheme.

On a sequence of posts on the microblogging service X (previously recognized as Twitter), the analyst pointed out that these actions suggest an intention to start offloading the remaining 542,000 ETH, which were confiscated from the multi-level marketing cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme worth millions that originated in 2018. Chinese authorities apprehended its main executives in 2020.

Beginning August, for the first time since 2021, the leftover Ethereum (ETH) linked to the multibillion-dollar PlusToken scam became active on the blockchain. In the past day alone, approximately 7,000 ETH out of the remaining 542,000 ETH ($1.3 billion) were transferred to exchanges, hinting at plans to start liquidating the remaining tokens.— ∴FreeSamourai∴ (@ErgoBTC) October 9, 2024

Two months ago, transfers of large amounts of Ether started from wallets associated with the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, following years of inactivity. An analyst pointed out that the distribution of ETH now mirrors the pattern of Bitcoin sold from the same scheme, hinting at a possible full disposal of the remaining assets.

The Chinese cryptocurrency scam known as PlusToken, which swindled vast amounts of money over the course of more than a year, was eventually dismantled by authorities. During its operation, they confiscated an astounding $14 billion in different digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ether.

As a researcher, I found that the confiscated assets were later handed over to a tech firm for liquidation and eventual reimbursement to the affected parties. Following ErgoBTC’s findings, an overwhelming majority of the seized Bitcoin, estimated to be worth approximately $1.3 billion at the time, was sold between August 2019 and March 2020. During this period, Bitcoin’s market capitalization stood around $160 billion, which equates to roughly $10 billion of selling pressure in today’s market conditions.

Most of the remaining Bitcoin was offloaded between August 2019 and March 2020, amounting to approximately $1.3 billion during that time frame. This period’s selling pressure equates to roughly $10 billion worth of sell pressure if we consider the current market capitalization of about $160 billion for Bitcoin.— ∴FreeSamourai∴ (@ErgoBTC) October 9, 2024

According to the analyst’s remarks, most of the scheme’s Ethereum (ETH) remained untouched until the summer of 2021. Approximately one-third of the total 840,000 ETH seized was transferred to a lesser-known exchange named Bidesk, which is believed to have been sold at that time.

Initially, the unused funds were kept in various blending accounts. However, earlier this year, those accounts were activated, and the equivalent of approximately 542,000 Ether (around $1.3 billion) was transferred to a group of 294 different addresses.

As a researcher, I’ve observed an intriguing flow of Ethereum within these funds. Specifically, approximately 15,700 ETH were transferred out from the identified addresses, while another 7,000 ETH found their way into deposits at known cryptocurrency exchanges.

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2024-10-11 07:28