China Accuses the US of Embezzling Over 127,000 BTC
Date: 2025-11-12 Author: Henry Casey Categories: IN WORLD
The China Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC) published a report calling the US seizure of 127,271 BTC a "state-level hacking operation." According to Chinese experts, these assets were stolen in 2020 from the LuBian mining pool and belonged to Prince Group Chairman Chen Zhi. At the time, their value was estimated at approximately $3.5 billion.
The hack went virtually undetected for several years. It was only in October 2025 that the US Department of Justice indicted Chen Zhi for masterminding a large-scale criminal scheme, after which it confiscated the Bitcoin, which by then had risen in value to $15 billion. The CVERC report dubbed the incident a "fight among thieves," as the Chinese claim the US illegally seized the previously stolen funds.
The center's experts stated that the nature of the attack on LuBian indicates the use of sophisticated tools available only to state agencies. Moreover, the attackers' behavior did not match the standard cybercriminal pattern: the assets remained idle for nearly four years, despite the fact that stolen cryptocurrencies are typically quickly converted to cash.
According to LuBian representatives, their team sent over 1,500 requests for asset recovery but received no responses.
In the summer of 2024, the stolen bitcoins began moving to new addresses. The Arkham analytics platform subsequently identified these addresses as linked to the US government. The funds were subsequently frozen again.
CVERC asserts that blockchain analysis does not confirm any connection between the seized bitcoins and criminal activity. According to their data, approximately 17,800 BTC were mined by LuBian, approximately 2,300 BTC were commissions, and the remaining 107,100 BTC came from legitimate exchange and platform sources.
Naeem Aslam, Investment Director at Zaye Capital Markets, believes that such accusations could lead to a new "crypto cold war" between China and the US. He believes the conflict reflects a broader issue—digital sovereignty and the legality of government actions in relation to crypto assets.
Earlier in March, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a national reserve to include all cryptocurrencies confiscated by the state. Washington explains this move as a need to strengthen financial stability, but China views it as a tool of political pressure.
