A dormant wallet tied to the Chinese Bitcoin mining operation LuBian has moved nearly $1.3 billion worth of Bitcoin, just one day after the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed plans to seize $15 billion in digital assets connected to an alleged global fraud scheme.
Major Bitcoin Transfer After Three Years of Inactivity
On Wednesday, blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain reported that a wallet associated with LuBian transferred 9,757 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $1.1 billion at the time, to multiple new wallets. This marked the first movement from the address in over three years.
Further data from Arkham Intelligence showed an additional transfer of 2,129 BTC, worth about $238 million, taking the total moved to 11,886 BTC — approximately $1.3 billion at current prices.
Background: LuBian’s 2020 Hack and Recovery Funds
An investigation by Arkham on 3 August revealed that LuBian was hacked in 2020, losing 127,426 BTC, then valued at roughly $3.5 billion. Arkham noted that LuBian had previously moved 11,886 BTC into recovery wallets, a figure identical to the amount shifted this week.
LuBian-linked wallet transfers $1.3 billion in Bitcoin. Source: Arkham Intelligence
These recent transactions have raised suspicion that the same funds tied to LuBian’s recovery efforts are now being relocated amid rising legal pressure.
DOJ Targets Prince Holding Group in Major Crypto Fraud Case
The timing of the transfers closely follows the DOJ’s unsealing of an indictment against Prince Holding Group, a Cambodia-based conglomerate accused of leading extensive crypto fraud operations.
US prosecutors have filed a forfeiture complaint for around $14.4 billion linked to schemes allegedly run by Chen Zhi, the group’s founder. According to the DOJ, Zhi and his associates laundered illicit proceeds to finance large-scale crypto mining ventures, including the Laos-based Warp Data, its Texas affiliate and China-based LuBian.
Mining Operations Used to Clean Illicit Funds
Authorities stated that these mining operations generated substantial amounts of “clean” Bitcoin that appeared detached from criminal proceeds. In 2020, LuBian briefly rose to become the sixth-largest Bitcoin mining pool globally, further complicating the trail of funds.
The DOJ confirmed that the Bitcoin identified in the complaint is already under government control and will remain so pending court proceedings. If Zhi is convicted on charges of wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy, the assets are expected to be permanently forfeited.
Potential Addition to US Bitcoin Reserves
If approved by the court, the seizure could represent one of the largest single additions of Bitcoin to US federal holdings. Earlier in March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve.
At the time, David Sacks, the White House AI and crypto adviser, indicated that the reserve would be funded with Bitcoin acquired through criminal and civil forfeiture actions — a category that now potentially includes the LuBian-linked assets.
