$540 Million in 'Sleeping bitcoins' from 2014 -- BTC may be linked to Cryptsy theft

They were moving from unknown wallets made in 2014 to large numbers of recipients addresses. According to onchain analytics, the $540 million bitcoin stash today could be linked to the Cryptsy thief.

11,325 Bitcoins Move from Dormant 2014 Addresses. Assets May be Linked to Cryptsy Thief

The funds from a lot of bitcoin wallets that were created in 2014 may have been moved on Tuesday. This could be linked to the Cryptsy theft. The defunct cryptocurrency exchange, led by Paul Vernon, lost millions of dollars in digital assets at the end 2015

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ ) announced that Vernon was indicted for allegedly stealing more than $1 million from digital currency wallets. Vernon, also known as "Big Vern", stole funds from accounts between May 2013-May 2015, and then transferred the money to his own bank account.

Funds moved on March 29, 2022 from Bitcoin wallets created July 29, 2014. All 11,325 bitcoins were processed at block height 729.587 and were caught by Btcparser.com and Whale Alarm. Whale Alert tweeted Tuesday that the large amount of activated bitcoin in previous posts could be linked to the Cryptsy theft/hack. Clustering from data also suggests that the 11,325 bitcoin could have come from Cryptsy.

Fed Seizure Speculation Rising, 'Big Vern’s' Whereabouts Still Unknown

Some people believe that the U.S. government may have the bitcoin stash. It sat inactive for seven years. This speculation is based on the recent Bitfinex Hack coins that were moved this past year and the coincidental and recently DOJ indictment titled "Big Vern">. However, unlike Bitfinex hack currencies that were consolidated into one address, transfers processed at block height 729.587 were sent out to many addresses.

This account sent 1000 Bitcoin to 59 recipients. This address sent 1,325 Bitcoin to 78 recipients addresses on Tuesday afternoon at 6:30 p.m. UTC. The 11,325 bitcoins were worth $540 million at the time of the transfer using the BTC exchange rate. Vernon was indicted by the DOJ, but he remains on the run. No one knows where he is.

The Miami New Times published an investigative report in 2016 that claimed Vernon and his girlfriend had swum off to China. According to Vernon's wife, Vernon spoke with the Miami New Times in a exclusive interview. 13,000 bitcoin were stolen from the exchange, according to Big Vern before the alleged interview. It also claimed that it had lost 300,000 LTC litecoin.

Cryptsy announced that they had shut down the website, filed bankruptcy and let users file claims through the bankruptcy process. The court would then make disbursements. Or, someone else buys and runs Cryptsy and makes the requested withdrawals.

None of the promises were fulfilled. The 11,325 bitcoins that moved Tuesday afternoon could be linked to the 13,000 Bitcoin stolen from Cryptsy customers.