Wallet Tied to LuBian Transfers $1.3 Billion in Bitcoin Following DOJ Indictment
A wallet associated with LuBian moved nearly $1.3 billion in Bitcoin shortly after the DOJ unveiled a $15 billion forfeiture case against a connected company.
A wallet connected to the Chinese Bitcoin mining operation LuBian executed a transfer of nearly $1.3 billion in Bitcoin just a day after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) initiated a move to seize $15 billion in Bitcoin claimed to have been stolen from the mining pool back in 2020.
On Wednesday, the blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain reported the occurrence, highlighting that a wallet associated with LuBian moved 9,757 Bitcoin (BTC), valued at approximately $1.1 billion at the time, to new wallets after being inactive for three years.
According to Arkham Intelligence, the same wallet subsequently transferred an additional 2,129 BTC, amounting to about $238 million, just hours after the initial transfer. This brings the total to 11,886 Bitcoin, which corresponds to around $1.3 billion at the present market valuation.
In an investigation carried out by Arkham on August 3, it was reported that LuBian suffered a hack in 2020, losing 127,426 BTC, a figure approximating $3.5 billion back then. Arkham noted that the platform moved 11,886 BTC into recovery wallets, matching the LuBian-linked Bitcoin that was recently transferred.
DOJ Unveils $15 Billion Forfeiture Case Against LuBian-Linked Company
The recent activity of this wallet took place shortly after the DOJ disclosed an indictment related to Prince Holding Group, a company based in Cambodia, that is allegedly involved in large-scale crypto fraud schemes.
On Tuesday, U.S. prosecutors filed a forfeiture complaint for approximately $14.4 billion associated with the faction accused of leading the scam headed by Chen Zhi, the founder of the group.
The DOJ stated that the Bitcoin in question is currently in custody and will face forfeiture following Zhi’s expected conviction on charges of wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.
As per the DOJ’s findings, Zhi and his collaborators laundered their illegal earnings to support expansive crypto mining operations. This operation included a Laos-based company named Warp Data, its subsidiary in Texas, and the China-based LuBian, which became recognized as the sixth-largest Bitcoin mining pool in 2020.
The DOJ asserted that these companies “generated substantial amounts of clean Bitcoin dissociated from criminal proceeds.”
Bitcoin Seizure May Bolster U.S. Reserves
If the court ratifies the forfeiture process, the reclaimed Bitcoin could represent one of the most significant additions to the U.S. government’s digital asset holdings to date.
In March, President Trump enacted an executive order establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve. At that time, the White House’s AI and crypto czar David Sacks mentioned that the reserve would be financed with Bitcoin owned by the federal government forfeited through criminal or civil asset seizure proceedings.
