The cryptocurrency market was reeling on November 21, 2019, as Bitcoin slid below $7,600 and altcoins suffered even steeper losses — and blockchain researchers were zeroing in on a culprit that had been silently suppressing prices for months: the PlusToken Ponzi scheme.
TL;DR
- PlusToken scammers were dumping approximately 1,300 BTC per day onto the market through OTC brokers
- An estimated 58,000 BTC remained to be liquidated as of November 21, 2019
- Bitcoin fell to $7,642 while Ethereum dropped over 9% to $161 on the day
- The $2–3 billion Ponzi scheme affected up to 3 million investors across Asia
- Funds were laundered through mixers like Wasabi Wallet before reaching exchanges
The PlusToken Scheme: A $3 Billion Black Hole
Launched in May 2018, PlusToken presented itself as a cryptocurrency wallet promising extraordinary monthly returns of 8–16%. The scheme primarily targeted investors in China and South Korea, though its reach extended to Europe and North America. At its peak, PlusToken boasted a user base of roughly 10 million people, with analytics firm Ciphertrace estimating up to 3 million actual investors.
The operation employed classic Ponzi mechanics: rewards depended on recruiting new members, with participants climbing an internal hierarchy earning titles like Big Boy and Great God. The platform even issued its own token, PLUS, which briefly traded at $350 on several Chinese exchanges.
When withdrawals froze in late June 2019, the true scale began to emerge. Six individuals were arrested in Vanuatu, but the core operators — reportedly including a Korean and a Russian national — remained at large. The stolen funds totaled approximately 180,000 BTC, 6.4 million ETH, and 111,000 USDT, valued between $2 billion and $3 billion at the time.
Tracing the Dump: How 58,000 BTC Pressure the Market
By November 21, blockchain researcher Ergo published findings that sent shockwaves through the crypto community. According to Ergo analysis, the PlusToken scammers had been systematically liquidating stolen Bitcoin through a sophisticated laundering pipeline, dumping roughly 1,300 BTC per day onto the open market.
Chainalysis later confirmed these findings, tracking how the scammers moved funds through Wasabi Wallet CoinJoin mixer, utilized complex peel chains across more than 71,000 addresses, and ultimately funneled Bitcoin to OTC brokers operating primarily on the Huobi exchange. Of the 45,000 BTC definitively traced to scammers own addresses, approximately 25,000 had already been cashed out by late November, with the remaining 20,000 spread across more than 8,700 cryptocurrency addresses.
Ergo estimated that 58,000 unmixed BTC still awaited liquidation, projecting the selling pressure would persist for another 1.5 to 2 months. Dovey Wan, founding partner of Primitive Ventures, called PlusToken the main force for both the bull and bear from April to YTD, underscoring how deeply the scheme liquidations had warped market dynamics throughout 2019.
Altcoins Take the Brunt
While Bitcoin decline was significant — dropping 4.65% to $7,642 on November 21 and nearly 12% over the previous week — altcoins suffered far worse. Ethereum plunged 9.36% to $158.50, with a punishing 12.77% decline over seven days. Bitcoin Cash fell 8% to $223, while EOS shed 8.77% to $2.81. Binance Coin was particularly battered, down 20% over the week to $16.84.
Kraken daily market report showed $148 million in total trading volume across all markets, with Bitcoin accounting for $103 million and Ethereum $23.5 million. Even Dogecoin, often resilient during downturns, dropped 12.1% on the day.
Binance Expands BUSD Amid the Carnage
Despite the broader market weakness, Binance continued expanding its stablecoin infrastructure. The exchange added four new trading pairs against BUSD in November: TRON (TRX), EOS, Stellar (XLM), and Cardano (ADA). The move signaled growing institutional appetite for regulated stablecoins even as the spot market struggled under relentless selling pressure from the PlusToken liquidations.
Why This Matters
The PlusToken saga remains one of the most significant examples of how criminal activity can distort cryptocurrency markets at scale. The scheme systematic liquidation of stolen Bitcoin through OTC channels created persistent downward pressure that punished altcoin investors disproportionately. The event also highlighted the growing role of blockchain analytics firms like Chainalysis and independent researchers in uncovering market manipulation that would have been invisible just years earlier. For traders and investors, the November 2019 bloodbath served as a stark reminder that price action is not always driven by fundamentals — sometimes, it is driven by criminals cashing out.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Past market events do not guarantee future performance. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.
1300 BTC per day from a single ponzi for over a month. thats bigger than some mining pools sell pressure. no chart pattern accounts for fraudulent liquidation
daily issuance was around 1,800 BTC back then. one wallet matching 70% of global miner output, and no supply model accounted for it
the fake WeChat groups had dedicated agents working shifts. this wasnt some basement operation, it was a full scale customer service org for a fraud
Hyun-woo C. the scariest part is the OTC brokers knew exactly where the BTC was coming from. nobody asked questions because fees were good
Organized crime with an app store listing. My cousin got roped into one of those WeChat groups in 2019, lost his savings, still won’t discuss it.
58,000 BTC still queued for liquidation while everyone blamed weak hands for the bleeding. The market spent months absorbing what was basically a scheduled seller and nobody priced it in.
58,000 BTC still to dump and they were doing 1,300 a day. thats over a month of constant selling pressure from a single scheme. no wonder altcoins were bleeding
1300 btc per day at 7600 average price means roughly $10m in daily sell pressure. from a single scam. altcoins never stood a chance
dust_falcon $10M daily sell pressure from a single ponzi at BTC $7600 is staggering. the 2019 altcoin bear market wasnt organic it was manufactured by PlusToken dumping through wasabi
Igor Malkin the 58k BTC overhang meant every altcoin bounce in late 2019 ran into a hidden seller. no chart pattern survives that kind of drip
1300 btc a day from plustoken with 58000 still left meant over a month of nonstop selling. altcoins got crushed
wasabi wallet being used to launder this volume is exactly why regulators keep coming after privacy tools. the legitimate use cases get buried
blaming privacy tools for how criminals use them is a slippery slope. cash is used for laundering too but nobody is banning cash
over 44 days of straight selling at 1300 btc daily. thats sustained sell pressure no chart pattern could predict. anyone trading altcoins in nov 2019 was fighting a rigged game
ponzi_hunter_ 58000 BTC at 1300 daily for 44 days straight. thats sustained insider dumping that no retail trader could compete with. the altcoin bleed in november 2019 was directly caused by this
wasabi got blamed for laundering but cash does the same thing. banning tools never stops the crime
8-16% monthly returns should have been an instant red flag for anyone who passed middle school math. but 10 million users signed up anyway. greed overrides basic arithmetic
Yeo-jin P. the returns werent even the worst part. they had a legit-looking mobile app with daily withdrawal buttons that worked for the first 6 months. built false confidence before the exit
8 to 16% monthly returns and 10 million users. the numbers were absurd on their face. greed makes people ignore every red flag
the social engineering was next level. they had fake wechat groups, fake team members, even fake blockchain explorers showing fake returns
fake wechat groups and fake blockchain explorers showing fake returns is next level. this wasnt just a ponzi, it was a simulated reality for the victims
Ines C. the fake WeChat groups had dedicated customer service agents answering questions in real time. this wasnt a side project, it was a full corporate simulation with hundreds of staff
Ines C. fake blockchain explorers showing fake returns is next level social engineering. most victims never even suspected because the frontend looked identical to a real portfolio tracker
8 to 16 percent monthly and 3 million investors. greed made everyone skip the obvious ponzi math
8 percent monthly with wechat customer service agents on call. production value on that scam beat most legit startups lol
1300 BTC a day pushed through OTC brokers and wasabi mixes. at some point a ponzi is just an execution desk with extra steps
execution desk with extra steps is such a good line. 1300 btc a day through otc for 44 days and nobody clocked it
november 2019 alts bleeding on zero news finally makes sense. 58k btc of ponzi overhang was the whole tape