Token

Bitcoin Cash

Dogecoin

Ponzi

Hundreds of cryptocurrency wallets that have remained inactive for over three years have suddenly started shifting large amounts of Ether (ETH).
According to onchain analyst Lookonchain, up to 789,533 <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/ethereum-price" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ETH</a> was linked to the Plus Token Ponzi and has not been moved since April 2021.
Onchain tracking revealed the tokens were associated with the “Plus Token Ponzi 2” wallet, which dispersed the ETH to thousands of smaller wallets in 2020.
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true"><img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-08/4443df0d-5b42-4d8c-b621-52887078f427.png" alt="Plus Token Ponzi-linked wallet moves $2B ETH after 3.3 years of dormancy " title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">Source: L<a href="https://x.com/lookonchain/status/1821136313640481006" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ookonchain</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/judge-calls-obscure-altcoins-ohm-klima-commodities-crypto-ponzi-case" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Judge labels 2 obscure altcoins as commodities in $120M Ponzi case</a>
<h2 id="chinese-authority-involvement">Chinese authority involvement</h2>
During the crackdown, Chinese authorities seized around $4.2 billion in multiple crypto assets, including the Plus Token scam.
The assets included 194,775 Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">BTC</a>), 833,083 ETH, 497 million XRP (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/xrp-price-index" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">XRP</a>), 6 billion Dogecoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/doge-price-index" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">DOGE</a>), and other assets like Bitcoin Cash (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-cash-price-index" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">BCH</a>), Litecoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/ltc-price-index" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">LTC</a>) and Tether (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/tether-price-index" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">USDT</a>).
Although the combination of seized tokens was worth around $4.2 billion in late 2020, the total funds are now worth around $13.5 billion as current asset prices are much higher.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/new-york-resident-arrested-43m-ponzi-scheme" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">FBI busts $43M crypto and Las Vegas hospitality Ponzi scheme</a>
<h2 id="implications-for-the-crypto-market">Implications for the crypto market</h2>
The reactivation of these wallets and the potential for a sell-off of the seized funds by the Chinese authorities could trigger panic in the market, but this has yet to be seen.
At the time of writing, ETH’s price was around $2,474, up around 1% on the day, and so far, the ETH outflows from the wallets <a href="https://etherscan.io/tx/0x279bd09aac345b4b1d4581027ce4d1974520cbf448f760eb6db5e62ab7083820" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">began</a> at 10:17 am UTC on Aug. 7.
<figure><img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-08/0db75ff0-891f-45d1-be51-94eaaabc06ca.png" alt="Plus Token Ponzi-linked wallet moves $2B ETH after 3.3 years of dormancy " title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">CoinMarketCap chart depicting ETH price over a 1-day period and showing no significant fall in price.&nbsp;
 </figcaption>
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Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/icomtech-crypto-ponzi-promotors-fraud-conviction-us-attorney" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">New York jury convicts two promoters of IcomTech crypto ‘Ponzi’</a>
<h2 id="what-defines-a-ponzi">What defines a Ponzi?</h2>
On July 4, an Illinois district judge sided with the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in labeling two altcoins as commodities in a crypto Ponzi case.
The Ponzi scheme defrauded its victims <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/judge-calls-obscure-altcoins-ohm-klima-commodities-crypto-ponzi-case" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">by promising “steady returns” of 15%</a> annually from investments in “digital asset commodities.”
According to the CFTC, the digital currencies involved in the case fell “into the same general class at Bitcoin, on which there is regulated futures trading.”
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/5-ways-crypto-bots-are-ruining-crypto-including-auto-memecoin-rug-pulls/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">How crypto bots are ruining crypto — including auto memecoin rug pulls</a>

Plus Token Ponzi-linked wallet moves $2B ETH after 3.3 years of dormancy

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