19 Dec 2019 Josphat Kariuki
$105 Million Worth Of ETH Transferred From Plus Token Wallets
Despite shutting down operations in June 2019, the team behind one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in the history of cryptocurrencies, Plus Token, is clearly unobstructed to access their crypto savings. Crypto monitoring Twitter-based service WhaleAlert rang the bell for the massive ETH transfer. The wallets to which the transfer was made are, however, still unknown.
The move could result in challenging several years for Ethereum, and the entire crypto sector as well. Apart from Ethereum, Plus Token wallets also contained Bitcoin and EOS. Crypto analysis company Chainalysis conducted research, showing that Plus Token wallets hold around 180,000 BTC and nearly 6,4 million Ethereum coins. As of press time, the total amount of cryptocurrencies in the hands of Plus Token exceeds $2,1 billion, which is enough large sum to cause significant fluctuations in the crypto sector.
Indeed, shortly after WhaleAlert announced the massive transfer, Ethereum’s price plunged from $134,19 to trade at $127,25 as of press time.
“We can clearly identify at least 800,000 ETH and 45,000 BTC are now in the hands of Plus Token scammers. They cashed out around 10,000 Ethereum tokens, leaving the rest in a single wallet”, Chainalysis representatives stated.
Some crypto experts are claiming Plus Token scammers are at the base of the recent Bitcoin price plunge, as the crypto criminals liquidated their BTC stash to exchanges like Huobi. Nevertheless, the current transfers quickly became a catalyst for fear in the crypto sector.
Plus Token became notorious for simply fleeing without a single word, except the “Sorry we have run” note on one of the transactions at the beginning of the massive money transfer operation. The main Ethereum wallet, however, began receiving small amounts of cash 55 days ago.
Interestingly, social media messages from the possible Plus Token core team, or their affiliates, roamed the Chinese Internet. The messages tried to explain why such transactions are made. Sino Global Capital’s CEO, Matthew Graham, noted the strange behavior and tweeted about the phenomenon. “However, we don’t have full visibility of the process so that it may be the core team at work or their associates,” Graham stated.
Ponzi schemes became notorious in the 2017 ICO boom, gathering a vast amount of illicitly accumulated capital. Crypto scammers like Plus Token and OneCoin allegedly tricked investors for close to $10 billion. Plus Token’s essential luring technique was the 9-18% monthly Return Of Investments (ROI). Illicit projects like OneCoin and Plus Token invest in luxurious look of their projects rather than functionality, cashing over $7 billion from investors. Many of the victims were acquired via offline events, such as presentations, conferences, and meetups.
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