Someone stole bitcoins that were then worth $3,400,000 – police find the money in a popcorn can

In 2012, $3.4 billion worth of bitcoin was stolen. Now the money has turned up again. But the locations where the cryptocurrency has reappeared is quite strange.

After 10 years, a huge amount of cryptocurrency has resurfaced. She had disappeared without a trace in 2012 and the authorities had been feverishly looking for the money. The money has since turned up again, and in a particularly strange place.

Stolen money was hidden all over the house

Where was the money discovered? James Zhong started stealing cryptocurrencies in 2012. To do this, he had exploited a vulnerability on the Darknet site “Silk Road” to steal bitcoins on a large scale. “Silk Road” was considered a trading place for illegal activities such as drugs or malware, which is then distributed via Nvidia drivers. The site has now been taken offline.

The stolen funds have now been found on various devices scattered throughout the house. The bitcoins were also hidden in a popcorn can and in a safe hidden in the floor.

According to U.S. authorities, this was the second largest seizure in history (via bbc.com). In the meantime, Zhong has pleaded guilty in the United States and faces up to 20 years in prison for fraud.

Today, the stolen money is worth only a third as much

Why isn’t money worth so much anymore? Aside from $600,000 found in cash, the rest is bitcoins. However, the digital currency has a highly volatile rate and is worth significantly less today than it was a year ago.

The $3.4 billion it used to be is worth about $1 billion today. That’s still a lot of money.

Companies that trade in these cryptocurrencies are also affected by the strongly fluctuating course. It even went so far that former crypto miners flooded the market with cheap graphics card offers to at least partially cover their losses.

A bank was hit so badly that it even had to close – and thousands of customers fell into despair:

Crypto Bank Misses $1B, Shuts Down – “I Managed to Ruin My Life”