According to Onchain Lens, an on-chain analysis firm, a wallet associated with Chen Zhi, a billionaire and leader of the multi-billion-dollar Prince Group, as well as a global fraudster, has moved a large amount of Bitcoin. He has moved 15,959 Bitcoins worth $1.83 billion and sent them to 4 different addresses.
Arkham data shows that the outflows were broken down. Two tranches of 4,999 BTC worth $539.8 million each were sent to two different addresses. These were followed by 3,424 BTC, worth $369.7 million, and 2,535 BTC, worth $274.4 million, to two other different wallets.
Bitcoin movements connect Chen Zhi to LuBian’s hack
According to Arkhama intelligence, the Bitcoin wallet, which had been dormant for more than three years, was awakened last week. As per on-chain data, it transferred nearly $1.3 billion worth of BTC.
Lookonchain and Arkham Intelligence, two blockchain analytics companies, followed the transfer of 9,757 BTC, or about $1.1 billion, to many new addresses. The entire amount reached 11,886 BTC, which is currently valued at over $1.3 billion, after an extra 2,129 BTC, worth about $238 million, was deposited a few hours later.
This happened just 24 hours after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced one of the largest crypto forfeiture cases in history, to which the firm was allegedly linked. This sparked curiosity about whether the move was a precautionary reaction to the DOJ’s crackdown or a long-planned reallocation.
The DOJ’s complaint seeks to forfeit around $14.4 billion in Bitcoin, allegedly tied to schemes run by the group’s founder, Chen Zhi.
As reported by Cryptopolitan. Court filings revealed that Zhi and his associates laundered illegal proceeds through large-scale mining operations, including Warp Data in Laos, its Texas-based subsidiary, and LuBian in China, which ranked as the sixth-largest Bitcoin mining pool in 2020.
Meanwhile, Arkham Intelligence had already stated that LuBian had been hacked for 127,426 BTC in 2020, which was valued at roughly $3.5 billion at the time. Arkham’s report from September said that 11,886 BTC had been shifted to recovery wallets. This is the same amount that became active last week.
Standard Chartered expects Bitcoin to slide below $100k
With hackers and the government potentially looking to sell, it is uncertain what the aftermath will look like for BTC.
Following Monday’s 3.5% pump, Bitcoin is now facing technical pressure, having fallen from $114,000 to the $107,000-$108,000 support zone. As a result of the reversal, investors are waiting for direction clues in the US Consumer Price Index data due out on October 24.
The consensus is that inflation will climb by 3.1%, but investors are worried that another upside surprise could shake up risk markets after six months of rising inflation readings. The Bitcoin chart reveals that the asset is testing support around $112,000. If support holds, the predicted path suggests that it might bounce back to $117,000.
Meanwhile, the kingcoin is trading at $108.390. It has seen a 4% decline in the last 24 hours. According to Standard Chartered, Bitcoin’s slide below $100,000 “seems inevitable” by this weekend. Geoffrey Kendrick stated that the decline could be short-lived and present a buying opportunity.
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