$14 billion Bitcoin mystery: Prince Group's Chen Zhi arrested, major digital currency scam exposes US-China rivalry

Cryptocurrency scams have been emerging relentlessly in recent years, but cases involving hundreds of millions of dollars in assets, crossing three countries’ law enforcement, and affecting US-China diplomacy are unprecedented. The arrest and extradition of Taizi Group founder Chen Zhi have brought a massive international scam case into the spotlight, while the ownership dispute over his control of 127,271 Bitcoins has evolved into a political game between two major powers over digital asset regulation.

Cross-border Investigation Concludes: Chen Zhi Detained in Cambodia and Extradited to China

Earlier this month, Taizi Group founder Chen Zhi was arrested by authorities in Cambodia and subsequently extradited to China. The Cambodian Ministry of Interior announced that this operation resulted from months of joint transnational criminal investigations and was carried out at the request of Beijing authorities, though they did not disclose specific charges Chen faces in China.

Notably, Chen Zhi’s identity has undergone multiple changes. He renounced Chinese nationality in 2014 to become a Cambodian citizen. His Cambodian nationality was also revoked at the end of last year, rendering him stateless—a “non-national”—adding legal complexity to the extradition process.

US Indictment: The Origin of the Scam Involving 127,271 Bitcoins

In October 2025, the US Department of Justice and the Treasury filed charges against Chen Zhi and Taizi Group, accusing them of wire fraud, money laundering, and forced labor, particularly targeting the organization and leadership of “pump-and-dump” scams. According to the US indictment, the seized crypto assets amount to 127,271 Bitcoins, which, at the current market price of $89,910 per Bitcoin, total over $11.4 billion—far exceeding the initial estimate of $14.2 billion. Additionally, US authorities froze hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate and other assets under his name.

The reason digital currency scams differ from traditional scams lies in their borderless and covert nature. After obtaining victims’ funds through false investments, dating scams, and other methods, criminals typically convert the illicit gains into Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, leveraging the pseudo-anonymous nature of blockchain to transfer and launder funds, making tracking more difficult.

Bitcoin Cold Case: Hacker Claims vs. Scam Proceeds

As the case develops, there are fundamental disagreements between China and the US.

In November 2025, China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center suddenly disclosed that the origin of the Bitcoins controlled by Chen Zhi remains a mystery—over 120,000 of which were stolen from Chinese mining pools by hackers in 2020. More explosively, some of the stolen Bitcoins unexpectedly appeared on the US asset seizure list, implying that the US may hold stolen assets.

However, US authorities strongly deny this, insisting that all seized Bitcoins originate from Chen Zhi and related entities’ fraud and money laundering proceeds, with no connection to any hacking incidents. Both sides present their claims, but there is no independent third-party verification data publicly supporting either side.

Behind the Scenes: Digital Currency Becomes a New Battlefield for Major Powers

What appears to be a simple international criminal case has now escalated into a contest between the US and China over the regulation and discourse of digital assets.

On one hand, the US holds the judicial authority to freeze physical assets, allowing temporary control over Bitcoin; on the other hand, China controls Chen Zhi himself and challenges the ownership of the assets under the pretext of “hacker theft.” There is no clear winner in this confrontation—if the US ultimately gains control over the Bitcoins, it will be seen as an extension of dollar hegemony into the virtual asset realm; if China’s claims are validated, it could redefine the legal framework for cross-border crypto asset recovery.

Victims—ordinary people whose accounts were drained by pump-and-dump scams—are voiceless in this international standoff, with asset recovery still a distant hope. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of digital currency scams is that technological advances have not only failed to protect the vulnerable but have also become a new stage for great power maneuvers.