U.S. confiscates more than 50,000 Bitcoins worth $3.36 billion from a hacker

The U.S. Department of Justice was able to seize more than $3 billion in cryptocurrency Bitcoin from a hacker.

Here's What We Know

In the early fall of 2012, American James Zhong was able to illegally gain possession of cryptocurrency on the Silk Road site on the darknet. To do that he created about a dozen accounts and opened deposits of 200-2000 BTC on them. The fraudster then launched 140 transactions in quick succession, which allowed him to cheat the processing system and withdraw 50,676 BTC.

During the Nov. 9, 2021 raid, law enforcement seized precious metals and about $600,000 in cash from James Zhong's home. Most of the cryptocurrency was found thanks to private keys in an underground safe and on a single board computer. At the time, the value of 50,676 BTC was $3.36 billion. Now at $20,500 per coin, that's just over $1 billion.

James Zhong admitted committing fraud by electronic means. He now faces up to 20 years in prison. He will be sentenced by a court on February 22, 2023.

Source: justice.gov