Around 7,000 ether (ETH), valued at approximately $16.7 million, have been moved from addresses connected to the notorious PlusToken scheme, according to crypto researcher ErgoBTC. This activity might signal the intent to sell a significant amount of ETH held by Chinese authorities following the arrest of the scheme's operators.

Movement of Seized ETH

The recently transferred 7,000 ETH marks the first significant movement from these wallets since 2021, and follows a pattern of previous asset sale obfuscations. The current ETH distribution mirrors the obfuscation attempts seen with BTC in 2019, indicating a likelihood of a full sale of the remaining $1.3 billion in ETH.

Historical Context

The PlusToken scheme, which operated between 2018 and 2019, defrauded around 2.6 million users, leading to the seizure of approximately $4 billion worth of cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, DOGE, and XRP, by Chinese authorities. Between 2019 and March 2020, a significant portion of the seized BTC was sold, causing notable market volatility. However, the Ethereum holdings largely remained untouched until the summer of 2021, when a third of the 840,000 ETH was transferred to the less popular exchange Bidesk.

Market Implications

These fund movements have already impacted the Ethereum market. Following the news, ETH's price dropped below the $2,400 mark, indicating growing concerns of additional sell pressure. If the remaining 542,000 ETH, worth over $1.3 billion, are sold, analysts predict that Ethereum's price could fall further, possibly dropping below the $2,000 threshold.

The movement of substantial volumes of ETH from PlusToken-linked wallets has caused concern within the cryptocurrency market. The sale of these tokens could significantly impact ETH's value, affecting trends and investor sentiment.