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$1.6 million for CrypToadz NFT? Buyer Accused of Money Laundering for Paying Over $10,000 in Transaction Fees

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$1.6 million for CrypToadz NFT? Buyer Accused of Money Laundering for Paying Over $10,000 in Transaction Fees

On-chain data shows that a CrypToadz NFT with a floor price of only 0.53 ETH, approximately $835, was bought today for a whopping 1,055 ETH. The buyer also paid over $40,000 in transaction fees to OpenSea, sparking discussions within the community. However, the large transaction is speculated to be related to money laundering activities.

CrypToadz NFT Sold for Millions

Today, CrypToadz #4030 was sold on the OpenSea marketplace for 1,055 ETH, approximately $1.68 million, and the buyer also paid 26.375 WETH, about $41,000, as transaction fees to OpenSea.

Interestingly, the floor price of CrypToadz NFT is currently only 0.53 ETH, around $835, making the buyer's astonishing behavior the talk of the community.

Previously, the floor price of CrypToadz NFT reached its peak in October 2021 at 13.95 ETH, marking a 95.7% decrease since then.

Buyer's Wallet Tied to Tornado Cash

Initially, several crypto KOLs believed this was just a common fat finger mistake, where the buyer accidentally made a quick transaction due to personal input negligence, resulting in an unexpected loss, a scenario that has happened before in both cryptocurrency service providers and individual users.

However, on-chain investigator TexasHedge pointed out that the wallet of the CrypToadz NFT buyer received around 1,116 ETH, approximately $1.76 million, from another wallet recently, which had received about 1,200 ETH, around $1.9 million, from Tornado Cash a month ago.

In other words, the buyer had received funds from the infamous Tornado Cash and mysteriously spent it on purchasing CrypToadz NFT.

TexasHedge speculated that the high-priced purchase of the NFT is likely part of a money laundering transaction.

Arkham: Tornado Cash Remains Ethereum's Largest Mixer

Recently, Arkham, a blockchain research firm that just launched a money flow tracking feature last week, stated that despite Tornado Cash experiencing over a 60% drop in Total Value Locked (TVL) and transaction volume after being sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in August last year, it remains the largest crypto mixing protocol on Ethereum.

Review of Tornado Cash regulatory events

It is reported that Tornado Cash operates on 7 different chains and obscures the transfer of 10 different cryptocurrencies. At its peak in July 2021, Tornado Cash even held over $700 million worth of ETH in its protocol.

Arkham's report also mentioned that in the past 30 days, as much as $77.35 million in assets have flowed through Tornado Cash contracts on the Ethereum mainnet.