In late 2025, U.S. authorities announced a record law enforcement action involving the seizure of 127,271 Bitcoin worth about $15 billion. The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against Chen Zhi, alleging wire fraud and money laundering tied to international crypto scams.
Prosecutors said the Bitcoin represented proceeds and tools of large-scale “pig butchering” investment schemes that targeted victims worldwide.
The DOJ described the forfeiture as one of the largest in U.S. history. Officials linked the assets to criminal networks connected to the Cambodia-based Prince Holding Group. They also tied the case to sanctions against individuals and entities labeled as a transnational criminal organization by the United States and the United Kingdom.
Not long after the declaration, the actions transferred to Asia. The Chinese government began to make its move that same day, holding January 7 as the date when the suspect wearing a hood and handcuffed would arrive in Beijing. The Cambodian officials, however, captured Chen a day earlier, while he was in their country, and sent him off to China immediately after taking away his citizenship.
In December 2020, Chen’s Bitcoin mining pool suffered a major cyberattack. More than 127,000 Bitcoin vanished during the incident, then valued at $4 billion. According to Chinese state media, Chen issued over 1,500 messages offering rewards for recovering the funds.
Despite the appeals, the Bitcoin never returned. Blockchain records showed no meaningful movement for years. The assets remained pristine until some movements were detected again in the middle of 2024.
The U.S. indictment in October 2025 revealed the confiscation of precisely 127,271 Bitcoins, a number very similar to the Bitcoins stolen during the 2020 hack. This similarity provoked officials and experts from China to look into the matter again.
In November 2025, China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center released a technical report on the case. The report stated the stolen Bitcoin remained dormant for nearly four years, arguing that such inactivity differed from typical criminal behavior focused on quick liquidation.
CVERC described the pattern as consistent with a state-level hacking operation. Around the same time, Arkham Intelligence tagged the destination wallets as belonging to the U.S. government. These findings fueled claims inside China that Bitcoin had moved under official control before the public seizure announcement.
Du Guodong, a partner at Beijing Haotian Law Firm, told Chinese media that the U.S. indictment did not explain how authorities accessed Chen’s private keys. He said the omission raised questions about whether hacking occurred as early as 2020. U.S. authorities have not addressed these claims publicly.
They instead describe the action as a lawful forfeiture linked to criminal charges. Court filings show no evidence of U.S. cyber intrusions into foreign systems. Officials continue to frame the case as part of global enforcement against crypto fraud.
As Chinese prosecutors now handle parts of the investigation and U.S. sanctions remain active, one question persists: How did the Bitcoin move from a silent theft to U.S. government wallets after four years of inactivity?
Also Read: UK to Compensate Chinese Victims After Seizing $6.8 Billion in Bitcoin Fraud Case
A $15B Bitcoin loss was linked to Chen Zhi with a later US Bitcoin seizure under a DOJ indictment. China disputes how the assets moved after years of dormancy; the outcome may shape future cross-border crypto enforcement and asset recovery efforts.