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Plus Token linked Ether has been discovered and is on the move.
Approximately $16 million in Ethereum from the Plus Token scam began moving to exchanges this week, suggesting an intent to sell, according to on-chain analyst ErgoBTC.
Chinese authorities reportedly seized $4.2 billion worth of cryptocurrencies, including 833,083 ETH, due to the Plus Token Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors from 2018 to 2019.
ErgoBTC’s latest analyst revealed that about a third of the seized Ethereum was sold on the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange Bidesk in 2021. The remaining approximately 542,000 Ethereum in thousands of wallets began moving in August and were consolidated into 294 addresses.
This week, 15,700 Ether moved, of which about 7,000 ($16 million) entered exchanges.
ErgoBTC said in
The Plus Token Fund movement caused quite a stir last August as no one could agree on how much of the Ponzi scheme’s ETH could be sold.
Blockchain tracker Lookonchain initially claimed that 789,533 dormant Ethers in the Plus Token scheme began moving on X.
Lookonchain removed the post after on-chain analyst EmberCN reported that 268,843 ETH were sold on Bidesk in 2021. EmberCN claimed to have tracked 25,757 of the remaining Ether to 12 addresses, adding that most of the Ether was sold in 2021.
Data platform Arkham Intelligence provided its own analysis, estimating that 196,000 dormant Ethers associated with PlusToken began moving within 12 hours.
ErgoBTC’s analysis is consistent with EmberCN’s statement of approximately 269,000 Ether from Bidesk, but found Ether from fraud in more than a dozen wallets.
Similar to Arkham’s preliminary report, ErgoBTC found that dormant Ether (estimated to be 540,000 remaining) began moving in August.
A move of $16 million in ETH would not be a significant supply shock for the cryptocurrency, but a move of 540,000 ETH, worth about $1.3 billion, suggests much greater selling pressure.
The Rise, Fall, and Another Fall of the $10.5 Million ‘Crypto King’
Philippine police arrested the self-proclaimed “cryptocurrency king,” 23, on October 7 on charges of defrauding investors of about 600 million Philippine pesos ($10.5 million).
According to the Philippine government news agency, the suspect, identified as ‘Joshua’ at a police press conference, reportedly targeted high-profile figures such as journalists, police officers, and government officials.
He reportedly maintained a database of potential victims, indicating that his targeting was deliberate rather than random.
The so-called cryptocurrency kingpin was previously arrested in September 2023 under the name Vance Joshua Tamayo.
Tamayo portrayed himself as a cryptocurrency genius and promised investors 4.5% monthly returns through a scheme presented as a legitimate business. At first he fulfilled these promises, but later he cut off communication with investors.
In the first case, he was accused of defrauding victims of 100 million pesos ($1.7 million), but was released on bail after paying 54,000 pesos (less than $950).
The scale of his fraud grew after authorities received additional complaints from alleged victims.
Police said they plan to file a ‘large-scale estafa’ case, or large-scale fraud, against Tamayo and eliminate his bail option.
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Upbit’s ‘Squid Game’ monopoly sparks fears of bank operations
Upbit’s dominance in the Korean cryptocurrency market has raised concerns about a potential banking operation at K-Bank, one of the country’s largest online banks and the cryptocurrency exchange’s banking partner.
Under Korean regulations, cryptocurrency exchanges must work with local banks to facilitate fiat ingress and egress. Customers of these exchanges are required to hold accounts at partner banks to ensure that their cryptocurrency activity is linked to their legal identity.
In Korea, only five exchanges meet these requirements, and the Upbit-K Bank partnership accounts for 70% of the domestic market.
At the National Assembly audit on the 10th, Rep. Lee Kang-il pointed out that the size of Upbit customer deposits held by K Bank amounts to approximately 4 trillion won (approximately $3 billion), equivalent to approximately one-fifth of the bank’s total funds.
Mr. Lee said that if Upbit service is interrupted, a bank run may occur at K Bank.
Chairman Lee blamed the Financial Services Commission for causing this risk due to favoritism.
Mr. Lee said, “FSC is playing a game of squid that saves one company and kills all others.”
FSC Chairman Kim Byung-hwan acknowledged Chairman Lee’s concerns and noted ongoing efforts to strengthen regulations to prevent money laundering and protect investors. He also said the FSC would look into issues of market monopoly and the structural risks posed by this concentration.
A bank run involving K-Bank could have global implications, as South Korea’s won is the main fiat currency traded against cryptocurrencies and led global trading volume in the first quarter of 2024.
K-Bank is targeting a $730 billion initial public offering (IPO) by the end of October, with an expected valuation of $4 billion.
Rep. Lee expressed doubts about the Financial Supervisory Commission’s approval of K-Bank’s IPO application, and Rep. Kim responded, “I believe the Financial Supervisory Commission may have conducted sufficient review.”
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Hong Kong deploys more licenses
The Asian financial hub is expected to see a surge in licensed cryptocurrency exchanges by the end of the year, according to Julia Leung, CEO of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).
In an interview with local media, Leung noted that his agency has begun field investigations of cryptocurrency license applicants. It is expected that approval will be issued en masse by the end of this year.
To date, there are only three exchanges approved to conduct licensed cryptocurrency operations in Hong Kong.
On October 4, Hong Kong Virtual Asset Exchange Limited joined the ranks of HashKey and OSL as a licensed exchange.
Meanwhile, 14 exchanges withdrew their applications, and one exchange received a return from the SFC.
The most recent one to withdraw was the Hong Kong Digital Asset Exchange (HKDAX) on October 9.
HKDAX recently made headlines by submitting its cryptocurrency license application three months past the deadline.
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Yoon Yohan
Yohan Yoon is a multimedia journalist covering blockchain since 2017. He contributed as an editor to Forkast, a cryptocurrency media outlet, and covered Asian technology stories as an assistant reporter for Bloomberg BNA and Forbes. He spends his free time cooking and experimenting with new recipes.