China Claims U.S. Seized $13B Bitcoin in Secret Cyber Heist
- CVERC claims the U.S. seized stolen LuBian Bitcoins worth billions through covert means.
- The DOJ denies the charge and insists the seizure was an operation against crypto crime.
- The clash exposes global tensions as both nations battle for control of crypto influence.
A Chinese cybersecurity agency has accused the U.S. government of participating in a major cryptocurrency theft involving 127,000 stolen Bitcoin, valued at roughly $13 billion. The allegation, made by China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC), deepens long-standing tensions between the two nations over digital sovereignty and cyber control.
According to CVERC’s technical report released Sunday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) seized Bitcoin allegedly stolen during a 2020 hack on the LuBian mining pool. The watchdog claims the seizure was not a simple recovery operation but the culmination of a sophisticated hacking effort tied to the original perpetrators.
The incident connects to Chen Zhi, chairman of Cambodia’s Prince Group, who now faces U.S. charges for orchestrating a large-scale crypto fraud. CVERC alleges that the seized assets, once associated with Chen’s company, were originally stolen using advanced cyber tools typical of a “state-backed hacking organization.”
Beijing’s Report Details the Cyber Timeline
CVERC’s report, shared by the state-owned Global Times, outlines a detailed chain of events beginning on December 29, 2020, Beijing time. Hackers allegedly exploited a flaw in LuBian’s system and drained precisely 127,272.06953176 Bitcoins in about two hours.
Each suspicious transaction carried the same fee, suggesting the use of an automated batch transfer script. The report identifies the sender wallets as belonging to LuBian’s operating entity under the Prince Group. The receiving addresses, meanwhile, were tied to the unknown attackers.
The stolen coins have not been disturbed for almost four years. The prolonged inactivity baffled the experts and supported the ideas of either a very disciplined group or a government-run operation. Just then, in the middle of 2024, the stash of Bitcoin was transferred silently to different wallets. Soon after, blockchain analysis firm Arkham Intelligence identified those wallets as belonging to the U.S. government.
The Global Times quoted analysts describing the event as “a classic case of thieves falling out,” suggesting that the U.S. takeover of the wallets mirrored state-level cyber maneuvering. CVERC claims this pattern shows continuity between the 2020 attackers and the 2024 transfers, portraying the U.S. seizure as the final act of a long, covert operation.
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Washington Denies Wrongdoing
The U.S. Department of Justice strongly refuted China’s allegations, stating that the asset seizure was a lawful action tied to criminal investigations. U.S. prosecutors said the confiscated Bitcoins were proceeds from illegal cryptocurrency activities linked to fraud and money laundering.
In official statements cited by CoinDesk, the DOJ maintained that its operation targeted illicit funds, not state-backed assets. American officials declined to comment further on the technical details of the LuBian hack but confirmed that Chen Zhi and his associates remain under indictment.
In the course of exchanging accusations, the quarrel reveals the underlying geopolitical rivalry over digital finance. Besides, it demonstrates the inadequately defined boundaries between law enforcement and cyber warfare in the age of blockchain transparency.
