The crypto community was concerned when hundreds of dormant Ethereum (ETH) wallets that had not been active for more than three years started to perform massive transactions on the network. This movement has drawn the attention of the community, with a total of about 789,533 ETH, which is worth around $2 billion. It has led to some questions about the source of these transactions and their impact.
The increased activity in these formerly inactive wallets is striking due to the amount of ETH sent. In general, the cold store wallet is often defined as a wallet that has not been active for some time and has not performed any transactions. Such activity can undoubtedly be recognized as holders’ activity, but it looks more like a signal for a particular event or an indicator of some significant entity’s actions.
The Plus Token Connection
By closely analyzing their transactions on the blockchain and tracing the funds’ source, their interaction history revealed that they obtained the funds from the Plus Token Ponzi scheme. The Plus Token fraud, which mainly worked in China and South Korea, offered the prospect of a high revenue on deposits in cryptocurrencies. However, it was one of the largest Ponzi schemes in the crypto world, scamming investors of numerous billions of dollars.
Police in China had earlier arrested members of the Plus Token scheme and substantiated much volume of cryptocurrency. The assets that were seized comprised 194,775 Bitcoin (BTC), amounting to $11.2 billion, 833,083 (ETH) worth $2.11 billion, 487 million XRP, worth $252 million, 79,581 Bitcoin Cash (BCH), worth $25.8 million, 1.4 million Litecoin (LTC), worth $82.3 million, and others.The recent ETH movement from these wallets indicates that the seized assets are now being redispersed or liquidated.
Repercussions on the Crypto Market
This particular transfer of such a significant amount of ETH might have several effects on the cryptocurrency market. First, it can affect the price of Ethereum and make its fluctuations even more unpredictable. Such significant movements and possible liquidations distort supply and demand and, thus, impact the prices of the assets.
Secondly, it creates doubts about the fate of seized money and property and their safeguarding and utilization. The revival of these wallets means that the authorities or entities who control these assets are acting in some way, probably to sell or transfer the money.
It is essential to draw attention to the fact that recently, $2 billion was transferred in Ethereum from non-active addresses associated with the Plus Token Pyramid Scheme. They refer to the current effects of past fraud on the market and, thus, the need to constantly monitor the chain to establish the source and flow of large volumes of crypto assets.
By the time it goes on, future changes in the impact of these transactions on the rest of the crypto-world inventory, as well as measures employed to secure and facilitate the management of seized cryptos, will also be worth consideration.
Therefore, dormant wallets are not always linked to scammers. They can be linked to long term holders as well.