Bitcoin News Today: LuBian's $1.1B Bitcoin Move: Liquidation or Strategic Shift?

A long-dormant wallet linked to the 2020 LuBian Bitcoin mining pool hack has moved 9,757 BTC—worth approximately $1.1 billion—after three years of inactivity, sparking speculation about the intent behind the transfer. The funds were sent to two new addresses, "34kn9z...s9tef" and "bc1q4c...77s0," according to blockchain analytics firms PeckShield and Lookonchain, according to a CoinDesk report. The move follows recent U.S. government efforts to seize 127,271 BTC ($14.4 billion) allegedly stolen from LuBian, highlighting ongoing legal and operational complexities surrounding the pool's compromised assets, the CoinDesk report added.

The LuBian hack, uncovered in August 2025 by Arkham Intelligence, remains the largest digital asset theft in history, with 127,426 BTC ($3.5 billion at the time) siphoned through a cryptographic key vulnerability, according to a Bitcoin News article. Despite attempts to recover stolen funds via OP_RETURN messages—small transactions embedded with text requesting the return of assets—the majority of the loot remained untouched until June 2024, when a consolidation of stolen coins was first observed, Bitcoin News notes. The recent movement of 9,757 BTC has reignited questions about whether the transfer signals a liquidation effort or a strategic shift in wallet management, the CoinDesk report suggested.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has separately seized 127,271 BTC ($15 billion) linked to the Prince Group, a Cambodian-based transnational criminal organization accused of operating forced-labor scam compounds. Elliptic, a crypto analytics firm, traced these funds to the same LuBian wallet, suggesting a complex money laundering scheme involving stolen mining assets, as reported in a Wired story. The DOJ's seizure—its largest-ever forfeiture—has drawn attention to the intersection of cybercrime, cryptocurrency, and global enforcement efforts.

Market analysts remain cautious. While the movement of dormant coins often correlates with price volatility, no immediate selling pressure has been detected. The broader Bitcoin market has shown resilience, with prices stabilizing despite the revelation of large-scale thefts and seizures. However, the U.S. government's continued hold on 197,354 BTC ($21.95 billion) raises questions about future policy decisions, particularly as institutional demand for Bitcoin grows, as CryptoNews reported.

The LuBian saga underscores persistent vulnerabilities in crypto infrastructure. The pool's use of a brute-forceable key generation algorithm allowed attackers to access and move most of its holdings, a flaw that remains a cautionary tale for industry security practices, Bitcoin News explains. Meanwhile, the DOJ's coordinated actions with the UK and other nations signal a new era of cross-border enforcement, targeting both cybercriminals and the financial systems that enable their operations, as PCMag reported.