China has accused the US government of orchestrating a $13 billion Bitcoin theft from mining pool LuBian in 2020, calling it a “state-level hack.” The US has not commented.
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China has accused the United States government of being behind one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in history – the disappearance of around 127,272 Bitcoin (worth roughly $13 billion) from a Chinese-linked mining operation known as LuBian, a Bloomberg report said.
According to a report published last week by the Chinese National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC), the December 2020 theft was not the work of ordinary cybercriminals but rather a “state-level hacker operation” directed by the US government.
The report alleges that the quiet, delayed movement of the stolen Bitcoin over several years fits the pattern of a government-led cyber operation rather than typical crypto-criminal activity.
“The US government may have already used hacking techniques as early as 2020 to steal the 127,000 Bitcoins held by Chen Zhi,” the report wrote. “This is a classic ‘black eats black’ operation orchestrated by a state-level hacking organization.”
The Case: How the Bitcoin Was Stolen and Later Seized
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has claimed those same Bitcoin tokens are linked to Chen Zhi, the billionaire chairman of Cambodia’s Prince Group, who was charged in October with money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy.
However, China’s cybersecurity agency argues that the timeline and technical evidence suggest Washington itself hacked and took the Bitcoin, later connecting the loot to Chen as a cover story.
US prosecutors, meanwhile, have filed a civil forfeiture case to seize the 127,271 Bitcoin — the largest such action ever by the US government — but have not explained when or how they obtained control of the funds. Federal prosecutors in Chen’s case declined to comment on how they accessed the Bitcoin wallets.
Chen Zhi’s Defence: “Seriously Misguided Allegations”
“As we explained in our submission to the Court, we are working closely with cryptocurrency experts to trace the Bitcoin that the government seized over a year ago, and which was stolen back in 2020,” Schwartz said in a statement to Bloomberg.
In a court filing this week, Schwartz called the government’s allegations “seriously misguided.” Chen is not in US custody, prosecutors said when the indictment was unsealed.
A Pattern of Cyber Tensions Between China and the US
Earlier this year, Beijing claimed the US exploited a vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange servers to target Chinese firms.
In October, China said it had “irrefutable evidence” of a US cyberattack on its National Time Service Center.
