U.S. Gov’s Bitcoin Hoard Grows: 16k BTC Vanish in Mysterious Crypto Web 🕵️‍♂️

by

In the realm of digital coinage, where the very fabric of the internet trembles under the weight of secrets, a tale unfolds! On Tuesday, the TopMob, that most diligent of scribes, chronicled the U.S. government’s grand endeavor to seize 127,000 bitcoins from a Chinese national and a band of rogues known as the Prince Group. Yet, lo and behold, within 24 hours, another 16,237 BTC from Lubian.com’s wallets-those enigmatic vaults-slipped away like a thief in the night, leaving behind only whispers of their whereabouts. 🧙‍♂️

Lubian.com’s $1.3B Bitcoin Wallets Emptied as U.S. Holdings Balloon to Record Levels

Yesterday, TopMob revealed that Arkham Intelligence, that modern-day oracle, traced 127,426 bitcoin to wallets dubbed “Lubian Hacker”-a cluster linked to a 2020 exploit of China’s Lubian.com mining pool, a bitcoin mining operation said to be once operated and funded by Prince Group. 🤯

These addresses, it seems, are entangled with the 2023 Milky Sad weak-key bug (CVE-2023-39910), leading onchain detective ZachXBT to ponder whether the bitcoins were “either hacked for or by the U.S. government.” Who holds the keys? A question as old as the internet itself. 🕵️‍♂️

Our report also noted-with screenshots as proof-that the Lubian.com wallets, separate from the seized funds, once cradled 11,886 BTC, valued at a staggering $1.3 billion. Since then, Arkham’s explorer data and onchain analysts, including Sani from timechainindex.com, have observed that the stash has been drained. What was 11,886 BTC yesterday now shows a mere 1.04774036 BTC left on the balance sheet today. 💸

Sani posted on X:

“So far, Lubian has mixed funds across three addresses, revealing an additional 16,237 BTC beyond the ~127,000 BTC listed in the U.S. Government forfeiture documents:

bc1qvrwzs8unvu35kcred2z5ujjef36s5jgf3y6tp8: 13,107 BTC

bc1q42ltpxsc6s8fne0jz474tvuvyq2sqw26ud80xy: 2,129 BTC

bc1q4c9q0nva573jgs7vxu9hf0qyfqqtzy8awn77s0: 1,000 BTC”

Alongside the Lubian wallet movements, Arkham has now merged all addresses previously tagged as “Lubian.com Hacker” into the broader cluster of U.S. government (USG)-linked wallets, which once held roughly 197,000 BTC. According to Arkham’s explorer, the USG’s holdings have swelled to 324,779.5040413 BTC-about $36.18 billion-making it the single largest bitcoin hoard held by any nation-state. The 16,237 BTC Sani tracked moving earlier today still sits untouched in freshly created wallets. (1, 2, 3)

Whether the U.S. government directly executed the recovery or benefited from someone else’s hack remains a mystery-yet the scale is undeniable. With more than 324,000 BTC now consolidated under its control, Washington’s crypto coffers eclipse every other nation’s, turning the Lubian-Milky Sad saga into one of the most extraordinary chapters in bitcoin’s forensic history. 🧠

Flagged U.S. government wallets on Arkham as of Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025.

As for the 16,237 BTC that moved earlier today-its controller remains unknown. As the coins sit quietly in newly created wallets, it adds yet another layer of intrigue to an already tangled web of digital breadcrumbs. It could be the original Lubian administrators reclaiming what’s left, yet no proof has surfaced to confirm it. 🕵️‍♂️

FAQ 💡

  • What is the Lubian-Milky Sad connection?
    It links a 2020 Lubian.com mining pool exploit to the 2023 Milky Sad weak-key flaw (CVE-2023-39910).
  • How much bitcoin is tied to the U.S. government’s wallets?
    Arkham Intelligence shows roughly 324,779 BTC, worth about $37 billion, held in U.S. government-linked wallets.
  • Who controls the 16,237 BTC moved recently?
    The owner remains unknown, though some speculate it could be former Lubian administrators.
  • Why is this case significant for bitcoin’s history?
    It marks one of the largest and most mysterious government-linked bitcoin recoveries ever recorded.

Read More

2025-10-15 20:25