Summary
LuBian (lubian.com) was a China-based Bitcoin mining pool that briefly ranked among the world's six largest before ceasing operations in early 2021. The pool is alleged to have functioned as a money laundering vehicle for Chen Zhi's Prince Group, a transnational criminal organization that operated forced-labor pig-butchering scam compounds in Cambodia. In October 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the largest forfeiture in its history — approximately 127,271 BTC (~$15 billion) — directly linked to LuBian and Chen Zhi's criminal enterprise.
Connected Entities
1 entities- + 2 more
Timeline(12 events)
2020-05-13
LuBian ranked 6th largest Bitcoin mining pool globally, controlling approximately 6% of network hashrate, according to BTC.com data.
2020-08-14
Co-founder Liu Ping publicly confirms LuBian operates the largest compliant Bitcoin mining farm in Iran, with Chinese and Iranian investors and ties to Iranian government ministries.
2020-12-28
Approximately 127,272 BTC (~$3.5 billion at the time) drained from LuBian wallets in under two hours, exploiting a 32-bit entropy flaw in the pool's private key generation algorithm.
2021-02-01
LuBian ceases all public mining operations without explanation; last block mined approximately March 1, 2021.
2023-08-01
MilkySad vulnerability (CVE-2023-39910) disclosed; researchers identify LuBian's compromised wallet addresses as linked to the same cryptographic flaw.
2024-04-01
MilkySad publishes formal research update linking the December 2020 LuBian mass withdrawal to weakly generated private keys, identifying lubian.com as the former wallet holder.
2024-06-01
First large-scale wallet consolidation movements observed in addresses holding stolen LuBian funds, after years of dormancy; funds subsequently entered U.S. government custody.
2025-08-02
Arkham Intelligence publicly discloses the December 2020 LuBian theft, describing it as the largest cryptocurrency hack in history at $3.5 billion (now $14.8 billion).
2025-10-14
DOJ unseals indictment against Chen Zhi (Prince Group chairman) for wire fraud and money laundering; announces civil forfeiture of approximately 127,271 BTC (~$15 billion), the largest in U.S. government history, linked to LuBian.
2025-10-15
A LuBian-linked wallet dormant for over three years moves 9,757 BTC (~$1.1 billion) to new addresses, one day after DOJ announcement.
2025-10-22
Additional movement of approximately $1.83 billion in Bitcoin from LuBian-associated hacked addresses.
2025-11-13
China's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center publishes report accusing the U.S. government of orchestrating the LuBian hack; U.S. denies all allegations.
Decision Log
- hash: AviMdoCbbw3wejp4xHo9ygokrGz8k3dCJ63rJu6pZwJ
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/4/2026, 2:54:59 AM
last updated: 5/25/2026, 5:34:25 PM
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