Plus Token Ponzi-Linked Wallet Moves $2B ETH After 3.3 Years of Dormancy
Hundreds of wallets that had been inactive for over three years suddenly began exchanging huge amounts of Ether (ETH).
According to onchain analyst Lookonchain, up to 789,533 ETH is linked to the Plus Token Ponzi scheme and has not moved since April 2021.
Onchain tracking revealed that the tokens were linked to the “Plus Token Ponzi 2” wallet, which distributed ETH to thousands of smaller wallets in 2020.
Related: Judge Designates 2 Obscure Altcoins as Commodities in $120M Ponzi Case
Involvement of Chinese authorities
During the crackdown, Chinese authorities seized nearly $4.2 billion worth of several crypto assets, including the counterfeit Plus token.
The assets included 194,775 Bitcoin (BTC), 833,083 ETH, 497 million XRP (XRP), 6 billion Dogecoin (DOGE) and other assets such as Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC) and USDT (USDT).
Although the combined tokens held will be worth about $4.2 billion by the end of 2020, the current asset value is so high that the total funds are worth about $13.5 billion.
Related: FBI busts $43M crypto and Las Vegas hospitality Ponzi scheme
Implications for the crypto market
The reactivation of these wallets and the possibility of selling funds held by the Chinese authorities may cause panic in the market, but this is yet to be seen.
At the time of writing, the price of ETH was around $2,474, up about 1% on the day.
Related: New York jury convicts two IcomTech crypto ‘Ponzi' promoters
What does Ponzi mean?
On July 4, an Illinois district judge sided with the United States' Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in designating two altcoins as commodities in a crypto Ponzi scheme case.
A Ponzi scheme scams its victims into investing 15% annual “fixed returns” in “digital assets”.
According to the CFTC, the digital currencies involved in the case “fall into the same general category as Bitcoin, on which there is regulated futures trading.
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