tl;dr
CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju believes China may have already sold the 194,000 Bitcoin seized from the PlusToken scam in 2019. On-chain data suggests that the confiscated assets were mixed and distributed to crypto exchanges, indicating a potential sale rather than retention. Despite official claims b...
According to CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju, China may have already sold the 194,000 Bitcoin seized from the PlusToken scam in 2019. On-chain data suggests that the confiscated assets were mixed and distributed to crypto exchanges, indicating a potential sale rather than retention. Despite official claims by the CCP, the movement of these coins through mixers and exchanges supports the argument that they were liquidated.
The fate of PlusToken's seized Ethereum holdings adds further uncertainty to China's approach to confiscated digital assets.
The PlusToken scandal, one of the largest crypto Ponzi schemes, resulted in Chinese authorities seizing substantial Bitcoin reserves. Official statements from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claimed the funds were “transferred to the national treasury” but did not clarify whether the assets were sold. Over $2 billion in Bitcoin was funneled into scam wallets during the PlusToken era before its collapse in 2019. The subsequent seizure by Chinese authorities raised questions about the fate of the recovered funds.
Ki argued that the movement of these coins through mixers and exchanges suggests they were liquidated, pointing out that "There’s no point in using mixers and multiple exchanges if they didn’t sell it." Blockchain data highlighted by Ki corroborates the flow of Bitcoin from PlusToken wallets to exchanges during the second half of 2019. The analysis shows an influx of funds, suggesting that the coins were converted to fiat currencies at the time.
Despite official claims, China is still listed as holding 194,000 Bitcoin, positioning China as one of the largest Bitcoin-holding entities globally. However, Ki’s insights challenge the credibility of this claim, arguing that the absence of updated CCP disclosures aligns with the on-chain evidence of a sale.
If true, the revelation could have implications for China’s perceived crypto strategy. While Bitcoin is considered censorship-resistant, the likelihood of the CCP retaining large amounts of the asset appears slim. Industry experts say the liquidation of such a significant volume of Bitcoin could have contributed to market movements in 2019.
The fate of PlusToken’s seized Ethereum holdings remains unclear, adding another layer of uncertainty to the CCP’s approach to confiscated digital assets.