These include:
The discrepancy, however, doesn’t necessarily mean federal agents missed any funds. Some addresses may remain sealed under court order, while others could belong to intermediaries within the laundering network.
Still, these coin movements suggest that investigators have yet to fully map the network’s control structure.
If the US government recovers the additional 16,237 BTC and the seized 127,000 BTC, its total Bitcoin holdings would rise to about 343,000 BTC. That amount would represent roughly 1.6% of the asset’s total supply.
The holdings would position the US government as the undoubted largest nation-state holder of the top crypto.
“Codifying how seized bitcoin is stored, returned to victims, and safeguarded for future generations. Turning criminal proceeds into assets that strengthen America’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve shows how sound policy can turn wrongdoing into lasting national value.”
Once ranked among the world’s top six Bitcoin miners, LuBian controlled about 6% of global hash power through operations in China and Iran.
Desperate to recover the funds, LuBian broadcast hundreds of on-chain messages pleading with the hacker to return the coins, offering a reward for their recovery.
On Oct. 14, US authorities unsealed an indictment that linked the stolen assets to a fraud network connected with the Prince Group, a Cambodian conglomerate led by Chen Zhi.
According to the authorities, Chen’s associates funneled proceeds from “pig-butchering” scams, which are massive online investment frauds, into crypto-mining operations like LuBian.
