The Chinese government is reportedly liquidating the remaining Ethereum (ETH) seized from the multibillion-dollar PlusToken ponzi scheme, causing minor dips in the cryptocurrency market.
Seized Ethereum Started Transferring According to Onchain Data
In early August, the dormant Ethereum tokens, which had been inactive since 2021, were reactivated on the blockchain. Over the past 24 hours, approximately 7,000 ETH out of the remaining 542,000 ETH ($1.3 billion) has been transferred to exchanges, indicating an intention to sell the remaining tokens.
PlusToken, a massive MLM crypto ponzi scheme, operated from early 2018 until June 2019 when its masterminds were arrested by Chinese authorities. At its peak, the scheme was receiving over 10,000 Bitcoin (BTC) per week, equivalent to approximately $85 million at the time.
By the time of its closure, PlusToken had amassed a staggering 194,000 BTC ($2 billion) and 830,000 ETH ($215 million). In 2020, a court document revealed that the confiscated assets were handed over to Beijing Zhifan Technology Co for liquidation and restitution.
The majority of the seized Bitcoin was sold between August 2019 and March 2020, amounting to roughly $1.3 billion. This selling pressure, equivalent to approximately $10 billion today, had a noticeable impact on Bitcoin’s market cap, which was around $160 billion at the time.
However, the Ethereum portion of the seized funds remained largely untouched until the summer of 2021 when nearly one-third of the 840,000 ETH was sent to a relatively unknown exchange called Bidesk and presumed sold.
The current liquidation of the remaining Ethereum is expected to have a limited impact on the broader cryptocurrency market due to the significant increase in Ethereum’s market capitalization since the initial sale in 2021.
