China sells confiscated PlusToken cryptocurrencies worth $4.2 billion

Chinese authorities have sold confiscated cryptocurrencies from the PlusToken pyramid scheme investigation, valued at $4.2 billion. The Block reports, citing a Yancheng court order.

The Chinese authorities held 194,775 BTC, 833,083 ETH, 1.4 million LTC, 27.6 million EOS, 74,167 DASH, 487 million XRP, 6 billion DOGE, 79,581 BCH and 213,724 USDT.

Source: The Block.

“The confiscated digital currency has been sold in accordance with the law, and the proceeds have been handed over to the state treasury,” the decision states.

The PlusToken pyramid launched in spring 2018 operated under the guise of a cryptocurrency wallet. According to the prosecutor’s office, key participants attracted investors with monthly returns of 10-20% and a referral programme. They managed to attract around 3 million people.

In June 2019, users began reporting problems withdrawing funds.

During the scheme’s existence, it attracted 314,000 BTC, 117,450 BCH, 96,023 DASH, 11 billion DOGE, 1.84 million LTC, 9 million ETH, 51 million EOS and 928 million XRP. The court estimates the total value of these assets at more than $11 billion.

In late July, Chinese law enforcement arrested 27 principal suspects in organizing the cryptocurrency pyramid. Also 82 key members of the group were detained. The losses from PlusToken are estimated at $5.8 billion.

In August, police detained six of the pyramid’s founders. In September they charged with organizing and managing a fraudulent scheme.

For more on the impact of PlusToken’s activity on the price of Bitcoin, read ForkLog’s special report.

How does the PlusToken pyramid launder bitcoins and how does this affect the price?

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