China Likely Sold Massive Bitcoin Reserves, Claims CryptoQuant CEO

CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju has suggested that Chinese authorities quietly liquidated a substantial stash of Bitcoin linked to the notorious PlusToken scam.

Ju claimed that 194,000 BTC, seized in 2019, were likely sold through Chinese exchanges like Huobi, despite official statements saying the funds were “transferred to the national treasury.” He argued that the use of mixers and multiple exchanges points to a large-scale sell-off rather than long-term custody.

The PlusToken scam, which unraveled in 2019, involved fraudsters amassing between 1% and 2% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply, creating artificial buying pressure that drove BTC from $3,000 to nearly $14,000.

Following the bust, large volumes of Bitcoin linked to the scheme were moved to exchanges, triggering suspicions of a coordinated sell-off. Analysts believe these sales contributed to a sharp market correction, pulling Bitcoin’s price down to the $6,000 range by late 2019.

Ju’s analysis sheds light on how the massive liquidation may have been executed, describing it as an “indirect liquidity attack” that highlighted Bitcoin’s vulnerability to concentrated selling pressure.

At the same time, 2019 marked a turning point for institutional adoption, with major players like Fidelity entering the crypto space and Bakkt launching regulated Bitcoin futures. Despite these advances, the PlusToken saga revealed the risks posed by large-scale illicit operations to market stability.

The fate of the seized Bitcoin, whether sold or held, continues to spark debate, but Ju’s insights suggest that its impact on the market was both immediate and significant, leaving a lasting legacy on Bitcoin’s price dynamics.