China and the PlusToken Affair: The Chinese government has resumed the sale of large amounts of Ethereum (ETH) confiscated from the PlusToken Ponzi scheme. Recently, 7,000 ETH, worth $16.7 million, was moved to cryptocurrency exchanges, suggesting a new phase of liquidation of these assets. The PlusToken Affair, which involved the loss of millions of dollars to investors, continues to impact the market, especially with the sale of large amounts of confiscated crypto. These events highlight the volatility of the cryptocurrency market, influenced by both global economic factors and government actions.
The news story deals with the development of the PlusToken case, a pyramid scheme involving cryptocurrencies that operated from 2018 until its dissolution in 2019 by Chinese authorities. The scheme attracted investors by promising very high returns and, at its peak, moved around 10,000 Bitcoins (BTC) per week, equivalent to US$85 million at the time.
Following the collapse of PlusToken, the Chinese government seized a massive amount of cryptocurrency assets, including 194,000 BTC and 830,000 Ethereum (ETH), among other cryptocurrencies. A significant portion of the Bitcoin was liquidated between 2019 and 2020, generating around $1.3 billion, which was earmarked for compensation to victims of the scam. However, much of the confiscated Ethereum remained untouched for years. Recently, 7,000 ETH (valued at approximately $16.7 million) was transferred to cryptocurrency exchanges, indicating a new phase of liquidation of these assets. The Chinese government still holds over 500,000 ETH, which has led to speculation about the potential impact of this sale on the cryptocurrency market. This move not only ends one of the largest cryptocurrency pyramid schemes, but also illustrates the ability of governments to directly influence the market by selling confiscated assets. $ETH
