Ethereum wallet with dormant funds transfers assets from $2 billion PlusToken fraud
Several wallets have initiated the movement of approximately 2,800 tokens from a $2 billion Ethereum cache associated with the 2020 PlusToken Ponzi scheme in China. Ethereum (ETH) experienced a slight decline of about 2% following the transfer of funds from a 789,533 Ether chest early on Wednesday, Aug. 7. The addresses involved had been inactive for over three years and last received assets from a wallet labeled “Plus Token Ponzi 2” in April 2021, as per data from Etherscan.
The PlusToken Ponzi scheme, which was a multi-billion-dollar scam, was dismantled by Chinese law enforcement in 2020. Authorities seized cryptocurrencies totaling $14 billion, including 194,775 Bitcoin (BTC) and 833,083 ETH, valued at $11.2 billion and $2.11 billion, respectively. Additionally, Chinese police confiscated significant amounts of Ripple (XRP), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), EOS (EOS), Dash (DASH), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Tether (USDT).
A lower district court in Yancheng, China, convicted 15 individuals in connection with the case, which reportedly affected 2 million investors. Ethereum is currently facing a situation akin to the Mt. Gox incident, with substantial amounts of Ether being transferred. Market maker Jump Crypto recently moved $277 million in ETH to exchanges like Binance and Coinbase. The Chicago-based firm also unstaked thousands of Ether from Lido Finance, potentially preparing for asset liquidation.
Although there have been no reports of Chinese authorities or Jump offloading ETH for stablecoins, such actions could exert selling pressure on Ethereum amidst a broader market downturn. Notably, Ether has seen a 25% decrease in the past week and maintained a level above $2,400 for less than two days at the time of reporting. The market price of ETH remained relatively stable, showing a modest 0.7% increase over a 24-hour period.
The accompanying 24-hour ETH price chart on Aug. 7 illustrates the recent market movements. It is crucial to monitor developments closely as Ethereum navigates potential sell-offs and market fluctuations.
