China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC) has accused the U.S. government of seizing 127,000 Bitcoins, (BTC) worth roughly $13 billion, originally stolen in a 2020 hack of the LuBian mining pool.
According to CVERC, the hack was carried out by a “state-level hacking organization,” and the U.S. seizure may have been part of a broader operation involving the same attackers, according to Global Times, a Chinese state-affiliated outlet.
The stolen coins, linked at the time to Chen Zhi, chairman of Cambodia’s Prince Group, now under U.S. indictment for a large-scale crypto fraud scheme, remained untouched for nearly four years before being quietly moved to new wallets in mid-2024.
Notably, on October 14, 2025, the U.S. DoJ charged Zhi and announced the seizure of 127,000 Bitcoins linked to him, coins that correspond to those stolen from the LuBian mining pool.
Chinese authorities provided a full timeline including the initial attack and theft, a dormancy period, attempted recoveries, the eventual activation and transfer of funds, and the final U.S. seizure. This sequence points to an alleged state-level hacking operation, effectively making the incident a case of “thieves falling out.”
U.S. government Bitcoin stash
Meanwhile, Blockchain analysis firm Arkham later identified those wallets as belonging to the U.S. government. Notably, the alleged stolen Bitcoin now represents roughly 38.9% of the total U.S. Bitcoin holdings, which stand at 326,588 BTC valued at $34.34 billion as of press time according to Arkham data.
The LuBian hack on December 28, 2020, saw over 90% of the pool’s holdings, then controlling about 6% of the global Bitcoin hash rate, stolen due to weak 32-bit key generation.
The funds remained mostly dormant until mid-2024, when they were transferred to wallets later traced to the U.S. government.
This dispute unfolds against a backdrop of China’s strict stance on cryptocurrencies. In 2021, Chinese authorities banned all crypto transactions and mining operations, citing financial stability concerns, while promoting the development of its central bank digital currency.
The incident also ties into broader U.S.-China economic tensions amid a trade war that is nearing the end with both countries making progress.
Featured image via Shutterstock
