A brand new technical report from China’s Nationwide Pc Virus Emergency Response Middle (CVERC) has revealed stunning particulars about one of many largest Bitcoin hacks in historical past, which factors to a hidden energy battle between China and the US over $15 billion in Bitcoin. The stolen Bitcoin stayed untouched for 4 years, which blockchain consultants say is uncommon for typical hackers. Now, each China and the US are pointing fingers, with some analysts suggesting the US authorities might have secretly seized the cash.
China’s 2020 Bitcoin Hack Raises Questions About US Authorities Involvement
LuBian was a fast-growing Bitcoin mining pool launched in 2020, primarily working in China and Iran. In late December 2020, hackers attacked its system and stole over 90% of its Bitcoin, matching virtually precisely the 127,271 BTC later claimed by the US Division of Justice (DOJ).
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Quickly after the theft, Chen Zhi, chairman of Prince Group in Cambodia, and his workforce despatched over 1,500 messages on the Bitcoin blockchain, embedded in small transactions, begging the hackers to return the funds and providing a ransom. The hackers by no means responded. The stolen Bitcoin remained in a single pockets from 2020 till mid-2024, an uncommon transfer, as most hackers transfer stolen cash rapidly. Blockchain consultants say this habits suggests a rigorously deliberate state-level operation.
Who Actually Controls The 127,000 BTC?
In June 2024, the stolen Bitcoin lastly moved once more to new addresses, which well-known blockchain-tracking firms, together with Elliptic and Arkham Intelligence, have recognized as being beneath US authorities management. Then, on October 14, 2025, the US DOJ introduced that it had seized 127,000 Bitcoins from Chen Zhi and charged him with monetary crimes.
Chinese language consultants, nonetheless, declare these are the identical cash stolen from LuBian in 2020, suggesting that the US authorities might have managed them years earlier. In response to the CVERC report, the weird habits of the stolen cash remaining dormant for 4 years means that potential state-level operations at the moment are intersecting with the DOJ’s authorized case towards Chen.
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Blockchain evaluation reveals that each one 25 Bitcoin pockets addresses talked about within the US DOJ indictment correspond to the addresses concerned within the 2020 hack. Solely a tiny fraction of the stolen Bitcoin was ever moved earlier than 2024, highlighting the weird, state-level nature of the operation.
The report additional means that the US might have acquired the stolen funds lengthy earlier than asserting the seizure, presumably even collaborating in or benefiting from the unique hack. Chinese language analysts argue that this seems to be a “state-level double-cross”, the place one authorities used hacking instruments to grab digital belongings beneath the duvet of regulation enforcement.
In the meantime, the US DOJ has not defined the way it obtained Chen Zhi’s non-public pockets keys or why these wallets precisely match the stolen LuBian funds, leaving the query of correct management unresolved.
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