The crypto market saw the movement of 7,000 Ethereum tokens from PlusToken’s seized $1.3B stash to exchanges, signaling potential liquidation after years of inactivity.
Notably, in early August 2024, the Ethereum assets seized from the infamous PlusToken scheme resurfaced on-chain for the first time in over two years. The first significant movement occurred with a transfer of 15.7K ETH from previously dormant addresses associated with the scheme.
These transfers included efforts to obfuscate the transactions, mirroring tactics used during the 2020 and 2021 movements of the scheme’s assets. The reactivation of these funds has raised concerns of further distribution, given the scale of the Ethereum token still held in these addresses.
Ethereum Transfers Hint at Selling Intentions
Over the past 24 hours, roughly 7,000 ETH, part of the remaining 542K ETH linked to the PlusToken seizure, was sent to exchange deposit addresses, indicating potential plans to sell these tokens.
In early August, the remnants of ETH seized from the multibillion dollar PlusToken scheme awoke on-chain for the first time since 2021.
Over the last 24h about 7k ETH of the remaining 542k ETH ($1.3b) was sent to exchanges indicating intent to begin selling the remaining tokens. pic.twitter.com/tu2o7y4o4L
— ∴FreeSamourai∴ (@ErgoBTC) October 9, 2024
These transfers come after a long period of inactivity, as the ETH assets had largely remained untouched since mid-2021, when 280,000 ETH was sold via lesser-known exchanges. This recent move suggests a continuation of the gradual liquidation strategy first observed during the handling of the seized PlusToken Bitcoin in 2019 and 2020.
In that earlier period, over 150,000 BTC linked to PlusToken was sold, placing significant selling pressure on the Bitcoin market. In contrast, the Ethereum portion of the scheme’s assets remained mostly intact until recently. The latest movement of ETH introduces fresh concerns.
Historical Context of PlusToken Asset Sales
The PlusToken scheme, which was active from 2018 until its unraveling in mid-2019, accumulated substantial amounts of Bitcoin and Ethereum through its MLM-style crypto Ponzi operation.
By the time the authorities arrested the masterminds, the scheme had collected 194,000 BTC and 830,000 ETH. While much of the Bitcoin was sold between late 2019 and early 2020, the Ethereum remained largely untouched until now.
With the latest transactions showing over 7,000 ETH sent to exchanges, and more likely to follow, this situation presents a new supply overhang for Ethereum.
Recent transactions suggest the entity handling the funds may pursue a gradual liquidation strategy similar to that employed with the Bitcoin sales, where over $1.3 billion worth of BTC was sold in less than a year.
Although only 7,000 ETH has been sent to exchanges thus far, the potential sale of the entire $1.3 billion in remaining ETH could exert prolonged selling pressure on Ethereum in the coming months.
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