China Has $6 Billion Worth Of Crypto, Can ‘Kill’ Crypto Markets If It Wants: Analyst – Bitcoin (BTC/USD), Ethereum (ETH/USD)
The Chinese government is a “crypto whale” that lost $6 billion worth of digital currencies to the treasury in 2019, according to the founder and CEO of blockchain data analytics firm Cyptoquant, Ki Young Ju.
Young Ju stated that Chinese authorities seized 194,000 Bitcoin BTC/USD833,000 Ethereum ETH/USDand other cryptocurrencies from PlusToken scam in 2019.
“They lost those assets worth $6 billion to the treasury,” he said.
Publicly traded companies’ Bitcoin holdings paled in comparison
In comparison, Micro strategy MSTR, Galaxy Digital Holdings BRPHF, Tesla TSLA, Coinbase Inc COINand Block, Inc SQ hold 130,000, 40,000, 10,725, 9,000 and 8,027 Bitcoin respectively.
In 2018, PlusToken was set up as a blockchain project in the eastern province of Jiangsu, China by Chen Bo and his accomplices, promise high returns on investment, thereby luring millions of people.
Investors were also required to pay membership fees in cryptocurrencies.
Eventually, along with 82 core members hiding in Cambodia, Vanuatu, Vietnam and Malaysia, all 27 of PlusToken’s accused masterminds were apprehended in 2020.
Authorities also seized billions in cryptocurrency obtained through the scam.
“Sell-side liquidity from miners, institutional investors and retail investors is next to nothing if you compare governments,” Young Ju told Fortune via a Twitter DM.
In a separate Twitter post, Young Ju said that the government of Bulgaria has over 200,000 Bitcoin.
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Young Ju pointed to the collapse of Terra Luna algorithmic stablecoin ecosystem LUNC/USDwhich included the Luna Foundation Guard’s stock of Bitcoin meant to back the cryptocurrencies, claiming that “Bitcoin dropped from $30,000 to $17,000 due to Luna’s sell-side liquidity. It was around 80,000 Bitcoin, so it’s basically twice [the Terra Luna collapse].”
Chinese authorities may be mad to sell their crypto holdings
When asked what could be the effect of the Chinese government selling its lost Bitcoin, Young Ju said: “It could be crazy. Imagine they start dumping 194,000 Bitcoin to kill crypto markets.”
Price Action: Major cryptocurrencies traded flat on Saturday, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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