Justin Sun’s Massive BTC Transfer Sparks Controversy
Justin Sun caused panic on crypto Twitter by transferring $156.4 million worth of BTC after BitGo announced a WBTC custody change.
According to EmberCN and Wu Blockchain news, a total of 2,590 Bitcoins ($156.41 million) were transferred to Binance from the suspected Justin Sun team address. Subsequently, a newly created address began withdrawing WBTC from Binance, and 1,953 WBTC ($117.78 million) has been withdrawn so far.
Suspicious Transactions Unveiled
Blockchain intelligence platform Arkham shows a series of transfers in progress. At 17:22 UTC on August 19, 2024, his address transferred 96.90098697 BTC worth $5.69 million to a Binance address. He then transferred 999.99291572 BTC worth $58.8 million to a Binance address again at 18:18 UTC.
At around 18:38 UTC, 107.25438819 BTC worth $6.34 million was transferred to the Binance hot wallet, followed by a subsequent transfer of 499.9999907 BTC worth $29.54 million to the hot wallet.
These suspiciously large transactions caused an uproar, especially after BitGo announced changes to WBTC’s existing custody model that involved spreading influence across multiple players and geographic jurisdictions. There has been an outcry from users since news of Sun’s involvement in the scheme came to light before the custody change.
Impact on the Crypto Community
August 9, BitGo declared a joint venture with Tron founder Justin Sun to move WBTC operations to a multi-jurisdictional and multi-institutional custody model. Following this announcement, MakerDAO enforced a vote banning future lending in Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC).
The controversial transactions and custody changes have sent shockwaves through the crypto community, raising questions about transparency and accountability in the industry. It remains to be seen how the situation will unfold and whether Justin Sun’s actions will have long-lasting repercussions.
