China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC) has released a technical report claiming that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) used state-sponsored hacking techniques to seize more than 127,000 BTC (worth about $13.3 billion at the time of writing) from Cambodian businessman Chen Zhi, the head of Prince Group. According to CVERC, these funds were stolen in 2020 from the LuBian mining pool, and the DOJ’s seizure operation “ bears all the hallmarks of a state-sponsored hacker group .” The 2020 Hack, DOJ Indictment, and Rising Accusations On December 29, 2020, hackers breached the LuBian mining pool and stole 127,272 BTC in just two hours. Every transaction had identical fees — a sign of an automated script. For nearly four years, the funds remained untouched. Chen Zhi and his company published more than 1,500 blockchain messages asking for the return of the stolen coins but received no reply. In June 2024, the funds suddenly became active and moved to new wallets. A report citing Arkham data suggested those addresses were under U.S. government control. By October 14, 2025, the DOJ formally indicted Chen Zhi and announced the confiscation of bitcoins allegedly tied to the 2020 hack. CVERC’s report describes the situation as an “internal showdown among thieves” and argues that only part of the seized funds came from illegal sources. It estimates that around 17,800 BTC were mined independently, 2,300 BTC came from pool payments, and the rest originated from exchanges. These findings directly contradict the DOJ’s statement that all of Chen Zhi’s assets were criminal in origin. Growing Tech and Political Rivalry CVERC’s allegations arrive amid deepening technological and geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China. Earlier, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang predicted that China could surpass the United States in the race for artificial intelligence supremacy — a statement that has added more heat to the already strained relationship.
