Debunked: Dormant Wallets Linked to $2.9B Crypto Scam Token Plus Have Not Shifted Funds

Independent analysts have debunked a recent social media post claiming that “hundreds of dormant wallets” linked to the multibillion-dollar crypto scam Token Plus had begun shifting nearly $2 billion in Ether.

Independent blockchain analysts have debunked a recent social media post that claimed “hundreds of dormant wallets” linked to the multibillion-dollar crypto scam Token Plus had begun shifting nearly $2 billion in Ether (ETH).

In a now-deleted Aug. 6 post to X, blockchain analytics service Lookonchain initially claimed that wallets linked to TokenPlus had begun shifting some 789,533 ETH — valued at $1.8 billion at current prices.

However, a follow-up investigation from Chinese crypto data account EmberCN argues that Lookonchain’s original post was incorrect, as most of the ETH had already been sold in 2021.

In an Aug. 7 post to X, EmberCN wrote that “most” of the 789,500 ETH Lookonchain was referring to had already been sent to the British Virgin Islands-based crypto exchange Bidesk in several transactions between June and September 2021.

EmberCN claims to have tracked down “about 12 addresses” linked to Plus Token and concluded that only an estimated 25,757 ETH — currently valued at $63.1 million — had actually been transferred in the last 24 hours.

Blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence also made a post to X regarding the movement of the PlusToken-linked ETH transfers, claiming that Token Plus-linked wallets had been moving $450 million worth of ETH.

However, a closer look at the data shared by Arkham shows little in the way of movement from primary Token Plus wallets, with only about $12 million in ETH transfers being highlighted in the last 12 hours.

Cointelegraph reached out to Arkham Intelligence for further clarification but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Plus Token — once a Chinese crypto wallet app that operated between 2018 and 2019 — is one of the largest-ever alleged crypto Ponzi schemes. Investigators found that its investors were defrauded out of up to $2.9 billion.

Chinese police detained six people involved in the Plus Token project in Vanuatu in July 2019 and extradited them to mainland China to face criminal charges.

One of the main ringleaders of the Plus Token project — an individual known only as Zhou — is set to face criminal charges in China, according to local media reports from 2020.