China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center has accused the United States of stealing 127,272 Bitcoin from the LuBian mining pool. The hack happened in December 2020, and the coins belong to Chen Zhi, chairman of Cambodia’s Prince Group.
Later, the U.S. Department of Justice said it had seized the same Bitcoin, worth about $15 billion, calling it part of a fraud case. However, China claims the coins were not seized but hacked by a state-level U.S. organization.
According to China’s CVERC, the Bitcoin theft was a “precise operation” carried out by experts with advanced tools. The coins stayed untouched for nearly four years before moving to wallets linked to the U.S. government in 2024.
The center said this pattern does not fit normal hackers, who usually sell stolen coins quickly. “This looks like a state-led hacking operation,” the report said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department has not explained how it got access to the Bitcoin. In a court filing last month, the department said,
“Those funds are presently in the custody of the U.S. government.” It is also called the case the “largest forfeiture action in DOJ history.” The department said the funds were connected to scams run by Chen Zhi’s company, but China strongly disagrees.
Furthermore, blockchain tracking firm Arkham Intelligence confirmed that the seized Bitcoin matched the coins stolen from LuBian. Records show that in July 2024, a wallet labeled “LuBian.com Hacker” sent almost all the Bitcoin to one tagged “U.S. Government: Chen Zhi Seized Funds.”
A transaction of Bitcoin from “LuBian.com Hacker” wallet moved to addresses linked to the U.S. government | Source: Arkham Intelligence
The report noted that Chen Zhi even sent messages through the Bitcoin network, asking for the coins back and offering a reward, but got no reply.
Chen Zhi/Prince Group, asking the hacker to return the stolen funds using blockchain messages. Source: Blockchain.com/Arkham
Notably, CVERC stated that the LuBian hack happened because of a weak security flaw. The mining pool used a faulty random number system to create private keys, making them easy to crack. Attackers then drained over 127,000 Bitcoin in just two hours, forcing the mining pool to shut down.
That said, China’s claim adds a political twist to the story. Both the U.S. and China are racing to control digital assets. The U.S. now holds around 326,000 Bitcoin, while China owns about 190,000.
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