China Suggests U.S. Role in $15 Billion Bitcoin Hack
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A Chinese state cybersecurity agency has published a report alleging that the U.S. government may have used a state-sponsored hacker group to steal more than 127,000 bitcoins from the boss of a Cambodian telecom fraud in 2020, roughly five years before Washington officially announced their seizure.
The report, released Sunday by the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC), claims that the U.S. may have orchestrated a “black-on-black” incident to seize the digital assets, then worth about $3.5 billion and now valued at $15 billion. The analysis concludes that the hacker group exploited a pseudo-random number vulnerability to crack the private keys of bitcoin wallets belonging to Chen Zhi, chairman of Cambodia’s Prince Group.
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- China’s cybersecurity agency claims the U.S. used state-sponsored hackers to seize 127,000 bitcoins (worth $15 billion in 2024) from Cambodia’s Chen Zhi in 2020, exploiting a weak private key algorithm.
- The hacked bitcoins remained dormant for years, with the final addresses now labeled as U.S. government-held; U.S. DOJ has not explained how private keys were obtained.
- The report urges stronger cryptographic security in crypto tools, citing systemic risks in random number generation.
- Prince Group
- Prince Group is a Cambodian conglomerate chaired by Chen Zhi. The company's chairman was the victim of a bitcoin hack in 2020, where over 127,000 bitcoins were stolen from his LuBian mining pool. This theft, valued at $3.5 billion then and $15 billion now, is alleged by a Chinese cybersecurity agency to have been orchestrated by the U.S. government.
- December 29, 2020：
- Major hack of Chen Zhi’s LuBian mining pool, resulting in the theft of more than 127,000 bitcoins.
- 2021 to June 2025：
- Chen Zhi embedded messages on the blockchain pleading for the return of his stolen funds.
- 2022：
- A similar vulnerability led to the $160 million theft from U.K.-based crypto market maker Wintermute.
- Between June and July 2024：
- The stolen bitcoins were moved to new addresses.
- October 14, 2025：
- The U.S. Department of Justice announced criminal charges against Chen Zhi and the forfeiture of his bitcoins.
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