Is China About to Dump $1.3 Million in ETH From PlusToken Seizure?

On October 10, crypto researcher “FreeSamourai” told his X followers that around 7,000 ETH of the remaining 542,000 ETH of the PlusToken seizures were sent to exchanges.

This indicates “an intention to begin selling the remaining tokens,” they claimed, but that remains to be seen, and no major sales have yet occurred.

The remaining ETH stash from the seizure is valued at $1.3 billion and would put substantial downward pressure on the spot markets if it has not already been sold.

At the beginning of August, the remains of ETH seized from the multi-billion PlusToken scheme woke up on the chain for the first time since 2021.

Over the past 24 hours, approximately 7,000 ETH of the remaining 542,000 ETH ($1.3 million) were sent to exchanges indicating the intention to begin selling the remaining tokens. pic.twitter.com/tu2o7y4o4L

— ∴FreeSamourai∴ (@ErgoBTC) October 9, 2024

What was PlusToken?

PlusToken published its white paper in February 2018, marketing itself as a South Korean crypto exchange and wallet provider that could offer users high-interest accounts. However, it was a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme that ended in mid-2019. At the time of its closure, it had amassed 194,000 BTC and 830,000 ETH.

By late 2020, Chinese police had seized $4.2 billion worth of crypto assets and arrested more than 100 people linked to the scam. Court documents reported that the seized assets had been handed over to Beijing Zhifan Technology Co. for conversion into cash, and the proceeds were to be used as compensation.

Most of the BTC has already been sold, the researcher reported, adding that the ETH “was sent to a relatively unknown exchange called Bidesk, and is presumed to have been sold.”

In early August, blockchain analytics service Lookonchain claimed that wallets linked to PlusToken had started to exchange around 790,000 ETH. However, this was debunked by Chinese blockchain analytics account EmberCN, which stated at the time that most of the ETH had already been sold in 2021.

There were no recent updates on the EmberCN account regarding these latest ETH moves.

ETH Price Outlook

As if Ethereum didn’t need more FUD and selling pressure, the asset pulled back again today. It has shed another 2% on the day to fall below $2,400 at the time of writing.

Ethereum has been trading sideways for more than two months, failing to break the $2,700 resistance but staying above the $2,200 support.

Additional selling pressure could drop back to this level very quickly, given that the broader crypto markets are pulling back again.

Whether the PlusToken ETH is another unexpected supply surge remains to be seen, but the premise has delighted Bitcoin maxis.

Ethereum Foundation Selling 9 ETH Figs
PlusToken selling 10 figs of ETH
ETH ETFs 9 figures in net outflows since ETF launch
Vitalik himself keeps selling ETH

— RunnerXBT (@RunnerXBT) October 9, 2024

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