A Chinese government agency has accused the United States of taking part in a massive cryptocurrency theft, claiming Washington unlawfully seized 127,000 Bitcoin (BTC) - worth around $13 billion - that were stolen from a Chinese mining pool in 2020.
China's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC) said in a report on Sunday that the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) seizure of the funds was connected to a "state-level hacking organization," according to Global Times , a state-owned outlet affiliated with the People's Daily.
Not a state-led hack
The report alleges that the 2020 hack targeted the LuBian mining pool and involved advanced cyber tools typical of nation-state actors.
Open-source blockchain forensics from Arkham, MilkSad, and Elliptic show the wallets were compromised due to weak random-number generation, not a state-led hack. The U.S. Department of Justice later seized the same wallets, linking them to alleged money laundering by Chen Zhi and the Prince Group.
It also links the stolen funds to Chen Zhi, chairman of Cambodia's Prince Group, who was later indicted in the United States for allegedly running a large-scale crypto fraud scheme.
"For nearly four years, the stolen bitcoin remained untouched," Global Times reported in its Nov. 10, 2025, article detailing the CVERC's findings.
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"Then, in mid-2024, the stash was quietly transferred to new wallets." Blockchain analytics firm Arkham subsequently identified those wallets as controlled by the U.S. government.
Beijing calls seizure a 'provocative act'
CVERC's analysis disputes Washington's position that the funds were criminal proceeds, claiming instead that the U.S. operation may have been linked to the same attackers behind the original theft.
Related: Exclusive: Ledger exec explains Bybit hack, calls for end of blind signing
The U.S. government, however, maintains the seizure was a lawful enforcement action.
This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Nov 11, 2025, where it first appeared in the Policy section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
