Reserved Ethereum moves from Plus Token scheme to exchanges.
TLDR
Up to 1.3 billion dollars in Ethereum from the PlusToken Ponzi scheme can soon be sold 7,000 ETH ($ 17.2 million) PlusToken, which already operates in China, was sent to the exchange from 2018-2019, which attracted 2.6 million participants. Chinese authorities seized 1% of various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin. A general supply may increase selling pressure on Ethereum.
Up to $1.3 billion worth of Ethereum seized from the Plus Token Ponzi scheme is reportedly about to be sold on cryptocurrency exchanges.
This development has attracted the attention of market analysts and investors as it may affect the price of Ethereum and overall market dynamics.
Plus Token, a fraudulent investment scheme operating in China between 2018 and 2019, attracted nearly 2.6 million participants before authorities shut it down.
During the crackdown, law enforcement agencies seized large amounts of various cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, Bitcoin, and others.
According to a recent on-chain data analysis by OXT Research, some of these funds have already started to move.
According to anonymous analyst Free Zamora, about 7,000 ETH, worth an estimated $17.2 million, was transferred to cryptocurrency exchanges such as BitGet, Binance, and OKX. This activity indicates an interest in selling the remaining tokens.
In early August, for the first time since 2021, ETH remnants from the multi-billion dollar Plus Token scheme were lifted off-chain.
In the last 24 hours, 7k ETH of the remaining 542k ETH ($1.3b) have been sent to exchanges to show interest in starting to sell the remaining tokens. pic.twitter.com/tu2o7y4o4L
— ∴FreeSamourai∴ (@ErgoBTC) October 9, 2024
The total amount of Ethereum held and available for sale from Plus Token is estimated at 542,000 ETH, worth approximately $1.3 billion.
This has raised concerns about the impact on the market if this large sum is sold.
Blockchain analytics firm AMLBot confirmed OXT's research findings with an independent investigation. A representative of AMLBot noted that the rest of the Ethereum was spread across multiple wallets and began moving in August, eventually aggregating to 294 different addresses.
The movement of these funds comes after a period of sleep. In early August, Ethereum assets held from Plus Token showed on-chain activity for the first time since 2021.
This earlier revival of mutual funds has caught the attention of market watchers.
Calvin Ferreira, head of ecosystem and development at the Bitcoin Layer-2 network BitcoinOS, commented on the impact on the market.
“Since the total amount held is about $1.3 billion, any significant liquidation could significantly increase the selling pressure, causing the price of Ethereum to fall.”
Anmol Jain, head of research at AMLBot, echoed these concerns, noting that the move could lead to higher selling pressure, worsen market sentiment and lead to price cuts.
However, he explained that the actual impact depends on various factors, including the amount of ETH, the time of transfers and the general market conditions.
It is worth noting that the Plus Token issue has resulted in one of the biggest cryptocurrency crashes to date.
Chinese police confiscated roughly 1% of Bitcoin's total supply, along with large amounts of other cryptocurrencies, including more than 830,000 ETH, 1.4 million LTC, 27 million EOS, and more.
In 2020, Chinese authorities indicted six members of the PlusToken group.
Court documents from the time show that the seized assets were eventually transferred to Xifan Technology Beijing with the intention of distributing the money to the scheme's victims.
According to OXT Research, the seized bitcoins are believed to have been sold on exchanges, and some of the ethereum has been liquidated, with 542,000 ETH currently remaining.
According to the latest data, the price of Ethereum showed a slight decrease of 1.5% in the previous day, trading at around $2,448. However, data from CoinGecko indicates that it has remained relatively stable over the past week.
