The movement of 7,000 ETH worth $16.7 million from wallets linked to the infamous PlusToken Ponzi scheme has raised alarms in the market, suggesting a possible sale of a significant portion of seized assets.

Movement of Seized Ether

Crypto researcher ErgoBTC reports that 7,000 ETH were recently moved from PlusToken-linked wallets, which had been dormant since 2021. This move has sparked concerns over asset sale obfuscation strategies. The analyst noted: "CITE_NA: Current ETH distribution follows the same attempted obfuscation pattern as that of the BTC in 2019, with a likelihood of full sale of the $1.3 billion of ETH in the future."

Historical Context

Operating between 2018 and 2019, the PlusToken scheme became one of the largest crypto scams, defrauding about 2.6 million users. Approximately $4 billion in cryptocurrencies were seized. From 2019 to March 2020, a significant amount of seized Bitcoin was sold, leading to notable market volatility. Ethereum holdings remained largely untouched until the summer of 2021, when a third of 840,000 ETH was moved to the less popular exchange Bidesk.

Implications for Ethereum Market

The PlusToken funds movement has already impacted the Ethereum market, causing ETH's price to dip below the $2,400 mark. Should the remaining 542,000 ETH, valued at over $1.3 billion, be sold, analysts warn that ETH prices could further drop below the $2,000 threshold.

The movement of PlusToken funds has once again placed the crypto market in a state of uncertainty. Market observers remain vigilant to assess potential implications for Ethereum's price movements.