The average price of one of the CrypToadz non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is no more than $1,000, but it was purchased for a staggering 1,055 Wrapped Ethereum (wETH), which is equivalent to $1.6 million.
trade occur Launched on the OpenSea Market on October 9th. The NFT, which stands for “a small, warty amphibian,” is one of 6,969 units minted by digital artist under the pseudonym Gremplin. The CrypToadz series was launched during the 2021 NFT craze, with trading volume exceeding 12,000 Ethereum (ETH) ($38 million) 10 days after launch.
The funds to purchase the wallet came from a wallet that withdrew funds from Tornado Cash pic.twitter.com/aInHO8vNyG
— TexasHedge (@0xTexasHedge) October 9, 2023
However, the price paid by anonymous users for NFTs has aroused doubts in the community. Two weeks ago, the item was acquired for 0.95 ETH (approximately $1,600), but sold for a thousand times more.
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Additionally, the purchase was funded from a digital wallet that was part of the transaction chain and anonymized by the Ethereum coin mixing service Tornado Cash. The new owner of the CrypToadz NFT received 1,115.9 ETH ($1.6 million) on October 5.
Although some X (Twitter) users First choice In an effort to characterize this strange buying behavior as a “fat-finger error” in the trading process, it could be an example of wash trading, a strategy that involves extracting funds of questionable origin through a long series of trades and exchanges.
Tornado Cash is known for its popularity among scammers looking to launder money. In August 2023, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) even announced sanctions against cryptocurrency mixers due to the company’s alleged involvement in laundering the proceeds of crime. However, these sanctions cannot completely cut off the use of mixers.
For example, in July 2023, nearly $60 million in ether stolen from AnubisDAO two years ago was transferred through Tornado Cash. Someone with 13,556 ETH splits and moves the funds into a 100 ETH transaction.
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