According to TheRegister.com, China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC) has alleged that a nation-state entity, probably the USA, stole 127,272 bitcoin in late 2020 from mining pool operator LuBian. The Chinese agency claims the stolen cryptocurrency belonged to Chen Zhi, chairman of Cambodia’s Prince Group, who allegedly appealed to hackers in 2021 and 2022 to return his bitcoin. CVERC argues that leaving the wallet “almost untouched” for four years suggests nation-state involvement rather than criminal activity. The story gets complicated because on October 14th, 2025, the US Department of Justice indicted Chen Zhi for operating forced-labor scam compounds and seized approximately 127,271 bitcoin as proceeds of his crimes. Both sides agree the bitcoin moved from Zhi to US government custody, but they completely disagree about how and why that happened.
Convenient omissions
Here’s where things get really interesting. CVERC’s report completely ignores Chen Zhi’s connection to those forced labor scam camps in Cambodia. And that’s a massive omission because China absolutely hates those operations – many victims are Chinese citizens, and Beijing has proudly advertised cracking down on them. So why would a Chinese agency suddenly go to bat for someone involved in something China despises?
The timing is everything. The US Justice Department announces it’s seized this massive bitcoin trove from a scam camp operator, and suddenly China pops up saying “Actually, we think America stole that bitcoin years ago.” It’s a classic counter-narrative move. Basically, they’re reframing what looks like legitimate law enforcement action as yet another example of American cyber-aggression.
Contradictory advice
Another weird element: CVERC concludes by advising China’s blockchain community and mining pool operators to improve their security. Wait, what? China banned cryptocurrency mining and trading back in 2021. So they’re telling people to secure operations that are technically illegal. That either suggests the ban hasn’t been completely effective, or this is purely rhetorical positioning.
And let’s talk about that 127,272 bitcoin figure. At today’s prices, we’re looking at billions of dollars. For that much value to sit untouched for years really is unusual for criminal actors. But is it proof of nation-state involvement? Maybe. Or maybe the thieves were just incredibly patient or got spooked. The blockchain doesn’t lie about movement, but it certainly doesn’t explain motives.
Bigger pattern
This isn’t CVERC’s first rodeo with alternative cyber-narratives. They’ve consistently claimed that the US and its allies made up the Volt Typhoon hacking group just to discredit China. Now they’re suggesting America hacked a bitcoin operation years in advance just to eventually seize it through legal channels? That’s quite the long game.
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So what’s really going on here? It feels like we’re watching a geopolitical narrative battle play out through cryptocurrency forensics. China wants to paint the US as the real bad actor in cyberspace, while the US points to actual criminal indictments. The truth probably lies somewhere in between, but one thing’s clear: when billions in bitcoin are involved, nobody’s telling the whole story.
