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Update (Aug. 8 at 1:48 am UTC): Lookonchain deleted the X post that is the subject of this article after analysts argued the X post was inaccurate as most of the funds had been sold in 2021. A new article covering that latest development can be found here. <\/a><\/p>\n Hundreds of cryptocurrency wallets that have remained inactive for over three years have suddenly started shifting large amounts of Ether (ETH<\/a>).<\/p>\n According to onchain analyst Lookonchain, up to 789,533 ETH was linked to the Plus Token Ponzi scheme and has not been moved since April 2021.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Related: <\/em><\/strong>Judge labels 2 obscure altcoins as commodities in $120M Ponzi case<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n During the crackdown, Chinese authorities seized around $4.2 billion in multiple crypto assets, including the Plus Token scam.<\/p>\n The assets included 194,775 Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>), 833,083 ETH, 497 million XRP (XRP<\/a>), 6 billion Dogecoin (DOGE<\/a>) and other assets such as Bitcoin Cash (BCH<\/a>), Litecoin (LTC<\/a>) and USDT (USDT<\/a>).<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Related: <\/em><\/strong>FBI busts $43M crypto and Las Vegas hospitality Ponzi scheme<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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 began<\/a> at 10:17 am UTC on Aug. 7.<\/p>\n Related: <\/em><\/strong>New York jury convicts two promoters of IcomTech crypto ‘Ponzi’<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n 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 scheme case.<\/p>\n The Ponzi scheme defrauded its victims by promising “steady returns” of 15%<\/a> annually from investments in “digital asset commodities.” <\/p>\n 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.”<\/p>\n![\"Plus](\"http:\/\/www.thebusinesschain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/4443df0d-5b42-4d8c-b621-52887078f427.png\" "\\"\\"")
Chinese authority involvement<\/h2>\n
Implications for the crypto market<\/h2>\n
![\"Plus](\"http:\/\/www.thebusinesschain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0db75ff0-891f-45d1-be51-94eaaabc06ca.png\" "\\"\\"")
What defines a Ponzi?<\/h2>\n