On Wednesday, hundreds of wallets transferred $2 billion Ethereum seized by Chinese police in 2021 when authorities cracked down on the Plus Token ponzi scheme.
Today, hundreds of Ethereum (ETH) wallets that had been inactive for over three years have recently resumed operations, facilitating the transfer of huge amounts of ETH.
The Chinese police confiscated this Ether stash in 2021.
Moreover, this action signals that a large ETH and other cryptocurrency dump is imminent.
China Transfers $2 Billion In Ethereum
Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain estimated that these wallets have transferred an astounding 789,533 ETH, worth approximately $2 billion.
The funds were traced back to a wallet linked to the notorious Plus Token ponzi scheme, “Plus Token Ponzi 2,” through on-chain tracking.
According to EtherScan data, this wallet had distributed a substantial amount of ETH to various addresses in 2020, but it has been inactive since April 2021.
The abrupt activity was observed roughly four hours ago, with the wallets starting the transfer of ETH.
However, these transfers sparked speculation that scammers were tampering with the Ether reserve held by Chinese police.
The Chinese government is believed to have taken action against the seized crypto assets, although there is no confirmation at this time.
The Plus Token scam was one of the most significant crypto Ponzi schemes in history.
During their crackdown, the Chinese authorities confiscated a significant amount of digital assets.
ETH Loses Hold On $2,500
The confiscated cryptocurrencies consisted of 194,775 Bitcoin (BTC) valued at $11.2 billion and 833,083 Ethereum (ETH) valued at $2.11 billion).
In addition to the massive sums of Bitcoin and Ether seized, the authorities confiscated many other cryptocurrencies.
Here is the detailed list:
- XRP: 487 million XRP ($252 million)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH): 79,581 BCH ($25.8 million)
- Litecoin (LTC): 1.4 million LTC ($82.3 million)
- EOS: 27.6 million EOS ($12.7 million)
- DASH: 74,167 DASH ($1.7 million)
- Dogecoin (DOGE): 6 billion DOGE ($609 million)
- Tether (USDT): 213,724 USDT
The reallocation of these funds coincides with the crypto market’s heightened volatility amid recession concerns and geopolitical tensions.
Meanwhile, large transfers can cause big swings in market prices.
As a result, the crypto community is closely monitoring the actions of the Chinese authorities in handling these assets.
The Chinese authorities’ next measures regarding the remaining seized assets, including Bitcoin and XRP, remain uncertain.
As of writing, Ethereum had lost its hold on the $2,500 mark.
The ETH price dropped to $2,480 on Wednesday, August 7, immediately after this movement, as of the time of writing.
Furthermore, Jump Trading’s $30 million ETH selloff heightened the strain.
