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One of the CrypToadz non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which typically has an average price below $1,000, was purchased for an impressive 1,055 Wrapped Ethereum (wETH), amounting to $1.6 million.
This transaction took place on the OpenSea platform on Oct. 9. The NFT depicts “a small, warty, amphibious creature,” part of the 6,969 units created by the pseudonymous digital artist Gremplin. The CrypToadz collection debuted during the NFT surge of 2021 and achieved a trading volume exceeding 12,000 Ether (ETH) ($38 million) within its first 10 days on the market.
The wallet that made the purchase was financed by a wallet that has been withdrawing funds from Tornado Cashhttps://t.co/nNhKvSVhoz pic.twitter.com/aInHO8vNyG
— TexasHedge (@0xTexasHedge) October 9, 2023
Nonetheless, the amount paid by the unidentified buyer for the NFT has sparked curiosity within the community. Just two weeks prior, this item was bought for 0.95 ETH (approximately $1,600), only to be resold for a price a thousand times greater.
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Additionally, the acquisition was financed from a digital wallet that has been involved in a series of transactions, anonymized by the Ethereum coin mixing service Tornado Cash. The new holder of the CrypToadz NFT received 1,115.9 ETH ($1.6 million) on Oct. 5.
While some users on X (Twitter) suggested that the unusual purchase might be a “fat finger mistake” during the transaction, it could also represent an instance of wash trading, a strategy to launder funds of questionable origin through a lengthy series of trades and exchanges.
Tornado Cash is well-known for its use by scammers attempting to launder their assets. In August 2023, the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against the crypto mixer for its alleged involvement in laundering proceeds from criminal activities. However, these sanctions have not entirely eliminated the mixer’s usage.
For instance, in July 2023, nearly $60 million in Ether, stolen from the AnubisDAO two years prior, was transferred through Tornado Cash. The individual holding the 13,556 ETH split and moved the funds in transactions of 100 ETH each.
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