- China’s CVERC accused the US of a US$13B (AU$19.89B) Bitcoin theft from the LuBian mining pool in 2020, calling it a “state-level hacker operation.”
- The seized funds were later linked to the DOJ’s case against Chinese businessman Chen Zhi, while the US claimed they were criminal proceeds.
- The dispute has intensified US–China tensions over cyber operations and digital asset control.
China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC) has accused the United States of conducting a large-scale Bitcoin theft worth approximately US$13 billion (AU$19.89 billion) from the LuBian mining pool in 2020. The agency described the operation as a “state-level hacker operation” allegedly directed by the US government.
According to Bloomberg and state media reports, LuBian was a Chinese-based mining pool that lost about 127,000 BTC during the December 2020 breach, an event later flagged by Arkham Intelligence as one of the largest crypto heists recorded.
CVERC asserted that the stolen assets corresponded to the Bitcoin later confiscated by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in its investigation into Chinese businessman Chen Zhi of Cambodia’s Prince Group, who has been charged with wire fraud and money laundering.
The CVERC report claimed that the hack used sophisticated, automated software and uniform transaction fees – hallmarks it said pointed to an organised cyber operation. It further alleged that the funds’ long dormancy before being transferred to new wallets in mid-2024 was consistent with state involvement. Blockchain analytics firm Arkham identified those wallets as being under US government control.
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Questions Over Legal Ownership
American authorities, however, view the Bitcoin as criminal proceeds tied to Chen Zhi’s alleged fraud schemes, not state hacking. Blockchain forensics firms Arkham, MilkSad and Elliptic also reported that LuBian’s compromise stemmed from weak random-number generation rather than any US operation.
Chinese analysts countered that some of the confiscated Bitcoin came from legitimate sources, including roughly 17,800 BTC from personal mining and 2,300 BTC from pool rewards. The dispute underscores deepening tensions between Beijing and Washington over digital asset governance and cross-border cybersecurity actions.
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