Ethereum On The Move: Dormant ETH Wallets Linked To $4 Billion Scam Awaken

Rubmar Garcia

10 months ago

3 mins read

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On Wednesday, online reports unveiled that hundreds of Ethereum wallets that had been dormant for over 3 years were moving large amounts of ETH. The wallets were believed to have moved $2 billion worth of ETH linked to a $4 billion crypto scam.

Investors worried that another massive dump would affect the market’s recovery. However, further details revealed that the initial ETH amount suspected to be moving was considerably smaller.

3-Year-Old Dormant Ethereum Wallets Awaken

On-chain tracking firm Lookonchain reported that hundreds of Ethereum wallets started to move considerable amounts of ETH earlier today. In a now-deleted post, the firm suggested that the wallets, which had been dormant for 3.3 years, possibly moved over 700,000 ETH.

Lookonchain tracked the funds back to an address linked to the PlusToken Ponzi Scheme. In 2020, the Chinese police reported seizing 833,083 ETH, now worth around $2.11 billion, as part of the crackdown on the scam crypto trading platform.

The now-awaken ETH wallets’ funds came from an address labeled “Plus Token Ponzi 2.” This wallet dispersed 789,533 ETH from the seized assets to thousands of addresses and had not moved since April 2021.

The news sparked a conversation between crypto investors, who feared the Chinese government would follow the steps of the German and US governments, adding another wave of selling pressure to Ethereum and the recovering market.

However, newly unveiled details clarified that the amount of ETH suspected to be moved was incorrect, which prompted the on-chain data firm to delete its original report.

Is ETH’s Selling Pressure Over?

According to on-chain data analyst EmberCN, the amount of Ether “waiting to be sold” is significantly smaller. The analyst detailed that most of the original 789,534 ETH went into crypto exchange Bidesk three years ago. The tokens were transferred to the now-collapsed exchange between June and September 2021 via multiple Ethereum addresses.

Per the report, most of the ETH transferred to Bidesk was transferred into Huobi and sold in 2021. Additionally, the analyst claimed to have tracked down around 12 Ethereum addresses to have collected PlusToken-related ETH in the last 30 hours.

These wallets reportedly have 25,757 ETH, worth around $63.1 million. Some of that amount was not “transferred to Bidesk in 2021; some was taken out of Bidesk and not transferred to Huobi.”

EmberCN concluded the “current collection” moving was only a small unsold portion of the PlusToken-related tokens. However, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization still took a 6.5% hit in the last four hours. This performance could be attributed to Jump Trading’s latest sell-off.

Lookonchain revealed that the Chicago-based trading firm sold another $29 million worth of ETH today. Jump Trading also redeemed another $48.2 million in preparation for selling on Wednesday morning. Per the report, the firm still holds 21,394 wstETH, worth around $63.6 million.

As of this writing, ETH went from hovering between the $2,500-$2,540 range to trading around the $2,370 mark. This represents a 6.8% and 28.3% drop in the daily and weekly timeframes.

ETH, Ethereum ETHUSDT — Ethereum’s performance in the three-day chart. Source: ETHUSDT on TradingView

Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

Rubmar Garcia

Rubmar is a writer and translator who has been a crypto enthusiast for the past four years. Her goal as a writer is to create informative, complete, and easily understandable pieces accessible to those entering the crypto space. After learning about cryptocurrencies in 2019, Rubmar became curious about the world of possibilities the industry offered, quickly learning that financial freedom was at the palm of her hand with the developing technology.

From a young age, Rubmar was curious about how languages work, finding special interest in wordplay and the peculiarities of dialects. Her curiosity grew as she became an avid reader in her teenage years. She explored freedom and new words through her favorite books, which shaped her view of the world. Rubmar acquired the necessary skills for in-depth research and analytical thinking at university, where she studied Literature and Linguistics. Her studies have given her a sharp perspective on several topics and allowed her to turn every stone in her investigations.

In 2019, she first dipped her toes in the crypto industry when a friend introduced her to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, but it wasn’t until 2020 that she started to dive into the depth of the industry. As Rubmar began to understand the mechanics of the crypto sphere, she saw a new world yet to be explored.

At the beginning of her crypto voyage, she discovered a new system that allowed her to have control over her finances. As a young adult of the 21st century, Rubmar has faced the challenges of the traditional banking system and the restrictions of fiat money.

After the failure of her home country’s economy, the limitations of traditional finances became clear. The bureaucratic, outdated structure made her feel hopeless and powerless amid an aggressive and distorted system created by hyperinflation. However, learning about decentralization and self-custody opened a realm of opportunities. Cryptocurrencies allowed her to experience financial control for the first time and expand her financial education.

Moreover, the peculiar nature of the crypto community sparked Rubmar’s curiosity about the other layers of the industry. As a result, she found a particular interest in discovering the diverse perspectives of investors, market watchers, experts, and developers. Her attempts to better understand the crypto space made her realize the strong links of the community with other industries, enriching her perspective of the sector. As someone who spends most of her day online, Rubmar enjoys finding the points where the crypto world meets with her other passions and hobbies –or her favorite memes.

In her free time, she usually finds joy in different art forms. As a child, she enlisted in every extra-curricular activity in her hometown, including music classes, dancing, jewelry making, and the local chorus. Despite her many attempts to learn different instruments, Rubmar only knows how to play the xylophone, which she played for 7 years in her school’s marching band.

She also has a passion for learning new languages and cultures, having set the goal to learn another six languages – currently attempting to learn Italian and Korean. Scrapbooking, paper crafting, and bookbinding are her biggest interests outside of work, constantly taking classes and attending workshops to learn new techniques. The rest of her free time is spent stressing over football matches and transfer market news or feeding cats –hers or stray.

In summary, Rubmar seeks to present entertaining and educational pieces to be enjoyed by everybody, aiming to report on the latest news and offer a unique perspective while adding a meme or a pun whenever possible.

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