China wants the 127,000 Bitcoins the US confiscated in Cambodia

China is very active in the Bitcoin market. Although trading in the largest digital currency is still officially prohibited, the Beijing government seemingly doesn’t want to lose its crown as the biggest Bitcoin whale among governments. After clarifying last week that the 61,000 Bitcoins the United Kingdom could soon acquire (if a London judge allows it) actually belong to the Chinese government, the CCP is now saying the same about the 127,000 Bitcoins the United States recently seized in Cambodia.

Complaint

In 2024, John Oliver gave a long and detailed overview of the very popular “pig-butchering” scams (where money is primarily paid out in crypto) on his “Last Week Tonight” program, and they seem to be particularly popular in Asia.

A Cambodian gang had specialized in these scams in recent years, earning approximately 127,000 Bitcoins, worth $15 billion, in the process.

According to China, the US government obtained the 127,000 Bitcoins it seized through dubious means, and states that these also belong to the Beijing government because most of the victims are Chinese. In just a few weeks, this is already the second complaint China has filed against a country for taking over illegally obtained Bitcoins. Given the current value of Bitcoins, this is hardly surprising.