China announces seizure of $ 4.2 billion in cryptos under the PlusToken Ponzi scheme.
Chinese authorities plan to liquidate the “coins” confiscated under existing laws.
PlusToken was one of the biggest crypto Ponzi schemes.
A Chinese court has released a detailed analysis of the total crypto assets seized as part of the Bitcoin Formula review scam, including around $ 3.3 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC).
Some commentators say the timing of the news points to an attempt by FUD to create panic in the market.
Chinese police confiscated over 194,000 BTC from PlusToken
According to the court ruling published on Scribd , Chinese police seized nine major digital assets as part of their crackdown on the PlusToken Ponzi scheme.
Along with 194,775 BTC worth $ 3.3 billion, the confiscated reserve also includes 833,083 ETH, 487 million XRP and 79,581 BCH, as well as 27.6 million EOS, 6 billion DOGE, 74,167 DASH and 213,724 USDT.
In total, Chinese police have transported more than $ 4.2 billion in cryptocurrency based on current market prices. The Bitcoin horde alone accounts for over 1% of the current supply of BTC in circulation.
China Bitcoin
Perhaps a bit of comic relief from the news is the fact that China now owns $ 6 billion of a “same crypto” like Dogecoin. The entered DOGE represents almost 5% of the token’s circulating supply at the time of printing.
The disclosure of the seized PlusToken funds comes in the wake of the Yancheng Intermediate People’s Court denying appeals filed by key agents convicted of the scam.
As previously reported by BeInCrypto, Chinese police arrested 109 people associated with the Ponzi scheme in June. The news of the arrests marked the first major crackdown by Chinese authorities against participants in a crypto Ponzi scam.
China to liquidate seized PlusToken cryptos
A rough translation of the court document revealed that there were plans to liquidate Bitcoin and other seized assets „in accordance with applicable laws.“ The court statement also revealed that the funds from the sale of these assets will be sent to the National Treasury.
In 2019, some entities sold several crypto tokens linked to the PlusToken Ponzi scheme. Indeed, reports of large crypto holdings associated with the scam in the market triggered some price drops in 2019.
The PlusToken scam is said to have defrauded more than 2 million victims for an amount of approximately $ 5.7 billion. Along with OneCoin and BitClub, it remains one of the biggest cryptocurrency scams in industry history.