On March 29, blockchain parsers caught a sequence of 11 transactions totaling 11,325 bitcoin moving from unknown wallets created in 2014, to a great number of recipient addresses. Furthermore, the stash of bitcoin worth $540 million today is possibly linked to the Cryptsy theft, according to onchain analytics.
11,325 Bitcoins leave dormant addresses in 2014, assets may be linked to crypto theft
Many bitcoins from wallets created in 2014 were moved on Tuesday and the funds may be linked to the Cryptsy theft. The now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange run by Paul Vernon lost millions of dollars in digital assets years ago at the end of 2015.
More recently at the end of January 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it had indicted Vernon for allegedly stealing over $1 million from digital currency wallets. The DOJ said Vernon, otherwise known as ‘Big Vern,’ stole from accounts between May 2013 and May 2015 and proceeded to deposit the stolen funds into his own bank account.
The funds moved on March 29, 2022 come from BTC wallets created on July 29, 2014. The 11,325 bitcoins were processed at block height 729,587, and the action was detected by Btcparser.com, and whale alert. “The massive amount of sleepers activated [bitcoin] in previous articles are possibly related to Cryptsy hacking/stealing”, Whale Alert tweeted Tuesday. On-chain analysis further shows that the 11,325 bitcoins may have come from Cryptsy, according to the oxt.me data aggregation as well.
Fed Seizure Speculation Rises, ‘Big Vern’s’ Whereabouts Are Still Unknown
The stash of bitcoin sat idle for more than seven years, and some people suspect the crypto may be in the hands of the U.S. government. The speculation derives from the recent Bitfinex hack coins that moved this year, coupled with the coincidental and recent DOJ indictment of ‘Big Vern.’ However, unlike the Bitfinex hack coins that consolidated into a single address, the transfers processed at block height 729,587 were sent to a wide range of addresses.
For example, this account sent 1,000 BTC to 59 different recipients. This address sent 1,325 BTC to 78 recipient addresses on Tuesday afternoon around 6:30 p.m. (UTC). At the time of the transfer, the 11,325 bitcoins were worth $540 million using current BTC exchange rates. Even though the DOJ has indicted Vernon, the former Cryptsy CEO is still at large and his whereabouts are unknown.
In 2016, the Miami New Times ran an investigative report that said Vernon and his girlfriend dipped off to China. That was according to Vernon’s wife at the time, and following that report, Vernon allegedly spoke with the Miami New Times in an exclusive interview. According to ‘Big Vern’ before the alleged interview, 13,000 bitcoin was stolen from the exchange. The exchange also said it lost 300,000 litecoin (LTC) as well.
“We shut down the website and filed for bankruptcy, letting users file claims through the bankruptcy process and letting the court make the disbursements,” Cryptsy’s announcement read at the time. “Or, someone else comes in to buy and run Cryptsy while making requested withdrawals.”
None of the aforementioned promises came to fruition and the 11,325 bitcoin that moved on Tuesday afternoon may be linked to the 13,000 BTC stolen from Cryptsy customers.
