Anonymous ID: 71c2a0 Dec. 26, 2019, 7:29 a.m. No.7624544   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4621 >>4758 >>4807 >>5098 >>5116 >>5142

PlusToken Scammers Didn’t Just Steal $2+ Billion Worth of Cryptocurrency. They May Also Be Driving Down the Price of Bitcoin.

 

Based in China, PlusToken presented itself as a cryptocurrency wallet that would reward users with high rates of return if they purchased the wallet’s associated PLUS cryptocurrency tokens with Bitcoin or Ethereum. The scammers claimed those returns would be generated by “exchange profit, mining income, and referral benefits.” PlusToken would go on to be listed on several Chinese exchanges and hit a peak price of $350 USD, raking in “investments” from millions of people.

 

Chinese media reports that the scam attracted over $3 billion worth of cryptocurrency. We tracked a total of 180,000 BTC, 6,400,000 ETH, 111,000 USDT, and 53 OMG (OmiseGo) that went from scam victims to PlusToken wallets, equating to roughly $2 billion. Either figure would make PlusToken one of the largest Ponzi schemes ever. While six individuals connected to PlusToken were arrested in June, the stolen funds have continued to move through wallets and be cashed out through independent OTC brokers operating mostly on the Huobi platform, showing that one or more of the scammers are still at large.

 

While we tracked $2 billion worth of various cryptocurrencies that victims sent to the PlusToken scammers, some of that money was paid out to early investors, presumably to maintain the illusion of high returns while PlusToken presented itself as a legitimate company. In many cases, it’s difficult to tell whether transfers made by the PlusToken scammers were going to those early investors or to addresses under their own control. Nonetheless, we’ve tracked roughly 800,000 ETH and 45,000 BTC we can definitively say the scammers transferred to their own addresses to launder. They’ve cashed out at least 10,000 of that initial 800,000 ETH, while the other 790,000 has been sitting untouched in a single Ethereum wallet for months.

 

The flow of the 45,000 stolen Bitcoin is more complicated. So far, roughly 25,000 of it has been cashed out. The other 20,000 is currently spread out across more than 8,700 cryptocurrency addresses, which speaks to the high level of effort the scammers put into obfuscating the movement of funds. The scammers have transferred the Bitcoin more than 24,000 times, using more than 71,000 different addresses — and that’s not even counting cash outs or transfers to off-ramps such as exchanges.

 

Many of those transactions were conducted through mixers like Wasabi Wallet, which utilizes the CoinJoin protocol to make it more difficult to trace the path of funds. You can see an example in the Chainalysis Reactor graph below.

 

cap #2

Here, we see that the funds are split off into large groups of new unique addresses, and re-consolidated later, which is activity typical of a mixer.

 

At other points, the scammers utilized peel chains and other complex movements to obfuscate the path of funds. Peel chains are strings of transactions commonly used for money laundering, in which entities send funds through several wallets in quick succession, usually breaking off small amounts to cash out at each step and sending the majority on to the next wallet.

 

The graph above is a great example of the PlusToken scammers’ obfuscation attempts. The funds start in the wallet in the upper left hand corner, and move to the right. Diagonal movements represent a change in address type, while vertical movements represent the use of a mixer.

 

In the end, the funds moved to the address of an OTC broker operating on Huobi to be liquidated — that’s how nearly all of the funds so far have been cashed out. For reference, OTC (Over The Counter) brokers facilitate trades between individual buyers and sellers who can’t or don’t want to transact on an open exchange. OTC brokers are typically associated with an exchange but operate independently. Traders often use OTC brokers if they want to liquidate a large amount of cryptocurrency for a set, negotiated price.

 

Some OTC brokers have significantly lower KYC requirements than most exchanges, which can make them attractive for criminals like the PlusToken scammers. Compliant exchanges monitor transactions and keep customer information on file so that they can report suspicious activity and comply with subpoenas from law enforcement. But OTC brokers play by different rules. While many are legitimate, others take advantage of lower KYC requirements to offer service to users with illicit funds. Some even specialize in the movement and laundering of criminal money.

rest at link

https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/plustoken-scam-bitcoin-price

Anonymous ID: 71c2a0 Dec. 26, 2019, 7:41 a.m. No.7624621   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4635

>>7624614

what I got so far

>>7624505 Boeing documents reveal ‘very disturbing’ concerns about 737 MAX

>>7624508 Hussein Twat w/ Tree connected to nigerian article saying christmas is really on 9/11

>>7624519 GOP Senators Predict Bipartisan Acquittal In Trump Impeachment

>>7624521, >>7624550, >>7624597 Vid on prohibition tunnels in LA and reminder of Port of LA

>>7624524 anon POTUS twat analysis: It's on…has been corrected

>>7624544 PlusToken Scammers Didn’t Just Steal $2+ Billion Worth of Cryptocurrency. They May Also Be Driving Down the Price of Bitcoin.

Anonymous ID: 71c2a0 Dec. 26, 2019, 8:16 a.m. No.7624807   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#9755

dolo d'oh

notables, not endorsements.

>>7624505 Boeing documents reveal ‘very disturbing’ concerns about 737 MAX

>>7624508, >>7624775 Hussein Twat w/ Tree connected to nigerian article saying christmas is really on 9/11- no mention on 9/11 but same tree.

>>7624519 GOP Senators Predict Bipartisan Acquittal In Trump Impeachment

>>7624521, >>7624550, >>7624597 Vid on prohibition tunnels in LA and reminder of Port of LA

>>7624524 anon POTUS twat analysis: It's on…has been corrected

>>7624544 PlusToken Scammers Didn’t Just Steal $2+ Billion Worth of Cryptocurrency. They May Also Be Driving Down the Price of Bitcoin.

>>7624581, >>7624791 digs on Timothy Tomasik Chicago treasurer

>>7624624 Ari Behn's Paintings

>>7624642, >>7624648 North Korea Reportedly Test-Fired Missile Into Sea Off Japanese Coast

>>7624669 Pakistani Authorities Raid ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Party Office Amid Judge’s Video Scandal

>>7624717, >>7624738 pf reports DOJ 737, POTUS fueler

>>7624724 Archive updates "The archive now contains 9758 breads".

>>7624739 NK missle firing retracted (NHK)

>>7624744 Mayor of New Mexico city charged with felony bribery and abuse of power after 'awarding a thousand dollar construction contract to her lover'

>>7624776, >>7624786, >>7624796, >>7624799 Moar Tweets from self-alleged Jeffrey Epstein child victim Jessica Leigh Collins

>>7624794 Police Wasted £1.5 Million on Electric Cars That Can’t Chase Criminals

 

>>7624758

Anonymous ID: 71c2a0 Dec. 26, 2019, 9:06 a.m. No.7625116   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5130

#9755

notables, not endorsements.

>>7624505 Boeing documents reveal ‘very disturbing’ concerns about 737 MAX

>>7624508, >>7624775, >>7624940 Hussein Twat w/ Tree connected to nigerian article saying christmas is really on 9/11- no mention on 9/11 but same tree.

>>7624519 GOP Senators Predict Bipartisan Acquittal In Trump Impeachment

>>7624521, >>7624550, >>7624597, >>7625081 Vid on prohibition tunnels in LA and reminder of Port of LA

>>7624524, >>7624722, >>7624795, >>7624836 anon POTUS twat analysis: It's on…has been corrected

>>7624544 PlusToken Scammers Didn’t Just Steal $2+ Billion Worth of Cryptocurrency. They May Also Be Driving Down the Price of Bitcoin.

>>7624581, >>7624791, >>7625089 digs on Timothy Tomasik Chicago treasurer

>>7624624 Ari Behn's Paintings

>>7624642, >>7624648 North Korea Reportedly Test-Fired Missile Into Sea Off Japanese Coast

>>7624669 Pakistani Authorities Raid ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Party Office Amid Judge’s Video Scandal

>>7624717, >>7624738, >>7624839 pf reports DOJ 737, POTUS fueler

>>7624724 Archive updates "The archive now contains 9758 breads".

>>7624739 NK missle firing retracted (NHK)

>>7624744 Mayor of New Mexico city charged with felony bribery and abuse of power after 'awarding a thousand dollar construction contract to her lover'

>>7624747 Washington Post Hacks Into Chevy To Show How Much Cars Are Spying On

>>7624780 imam of peace twat "Iraqi's President resigns"

>>7624794 Police Wasted £1.5 Million on Electric Cars That Can’t Chase Criminals

>>7624821 WH twat: "POTUS msg on Kwanzaa"

>>7624841 Japan has executed its first foreigner in 10 years, a Chinese man convicted in the 2003 murder and robbery of a family of four.

>>7624846, >>7624891 Russian agricultural exports by the end of the year will amount to $ 24 billion (orig article in russian) ty for the reader's digest version anon

>>7624925, >>7624959 anon dig: Hunter Biden's - Hollywood House There's Moar Than Meets the Eye

>>7624970 YouTube “Christmas Purge” Has Content Creators Pointing to These Alternate Platforms

>>7625025 MINI BUN: Call to Meme the Dems Today!

 

hon mention per bakey.

>>7624927, >>7624988 mini-bun Moar Tweets from self-alleged Jeffrey Epstein child victim Jessica Leigh Collins

 

>>7625098

you right, I usually am. here ya go.

 

Name it B , not berry gud at that.