2025-11-11 14:44 |
China’s top cybersecurity authority has accused the United States government of being involved in one of the largest bitcoin-related cyber thefts in history.
A new report from the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC) claims that the US Department of Justice took possession of 127,000 bitcoin stolen in a 2020 attack on the LuBian mining pool.
The report alleges that this was not a simple criminal seizure but the final phase of a long-term cyber operation.
The bitcoin, worth around $13 billion today, remained untouched until mid-2024, when the assets were suddenly moved to US-controlled wallets, according to blockchain data.
Cold wallets and quiet transfersThe LuBian mining pool, active during the early stages of China’s cryptocurrency boom, was quietly breached in 2020. The attackers extracted 127,000 bitcoin linked to the pool’s operations.
At the time, the hack attracted little attention, partly because the stolen bitcoin remained inactive for nearly four years.
That changed in 2024, when the assets were quietly transferred to new blockchain addresses. The transfers were detected by blockchain analysis firm Arkham, which linked the destination wallets to the US government.
These findings aligned with a later US Department of Justice announcement confirming that the bitcoin had been seized as criminal evidence.
The DOJ linked the funds to Chen Zhi, chairman of Cambodia’s Prince Group, who was indicted for operating a large-scale cryptocurrency fraud.
His alleged connection to the LuBian theft became a crucial piece in the official explanation for the US seizure.
China alleges coordinated cyber operationBeijing’s response came through a detailed technical report by CVERC, released on Sunday and featured in the Global Times, a newspaper associated with China’s ruling party.
The report challenges the official US stance, arguing that the theft itself bore the hallmarks of a sophisticated cyber operation.
CVERC maintains that the tools and techniques used in the 2020 hack point to capabilities typically held by state-backed actors.
It suggests that the same entity responsible for the original breach may have retained control of the bitcoin, only to later legitimise the seizure through a criminal case.
The report claims that the US government did not merely intercept criminal proceeds but may have engineered the theft itself, using its technological advantage and intelligence resources to orchestrate both the hack and its resolution.
Blockchain transparency questionedThe case has highlighted the double-edged nature of blockchain forensics. While blockchain technology is praised for transparency, it does not reveal identity or intent.
Arkham’s identification of the US-linked wallets relied on transaction patterns and tagging methodologies that, although widely accepted, are not immune to interpretation.
China’s report suggests the US may have used blockchain’s traceability to cover up a covert operation.
By framing the asset movement as a lawful seizure, the US could, in theory, use blockchain evidence as both proof of guilt and a cover for prior involvement.
If substantiated, this would raise serious questions about how blockchain analytics is applied in state-level operations and how evidence gathered from decentralised ledgers is used in international investigations.
Cybersecurity and diplomatic falloutThe broader implications of CVERC’s report go beyond the cryptocurrency industry. Accusing a foreign government of orchestrating a multi-year cyber theft introduces a new front in global cybersecurity disputes.
The timing of the accusation, coupled with the strategic value of digital assets, underscores how cryptocurrency is increasingly intertwined with national security and foreign policy.
As the dispute escalates, both countries are using technical language to make political points. The US insists the seizure was legitimate, while China frames it as an abuse of legal mechanisms to finalise a digital theft.
Neither side appears willing to shift position, making this one of the most high-profile accusations yet involving blockchain, state surveillance, and cross-border digital asset control.
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