A court in Qingdao, China, sentenced a man to 10 years and nine months in prison for stealing 107 Bitcoin after memorizing most of a victim’s wallet recovery phrase. This case stands out because prosecutors successfully argued that Bitcoin counts as property under Chinese criminal law.
The court summary says the victim asked Zhang to help cash out 117 Bitcoin in 2023. During the wallet setup, Zhang reportedly memorized 11 of the 12 recovery words and later figured out the last one, which let him transfer 107 BTC from the wallet.
Investigators tracked the transactions after the victim reported the theft. The court found that Zhang converted the stolen Bitcoin and made over $97,000. Besides the prison sentence, he was fined 100,000 yuan, or about $14,700.
China has banned many crypto activities, including mining and trading, but this ruling shows that courts can still treat Bitcoin as property when dealing with theft cases.
Security experts say this incident highlights the human side of wallet security. Even though 12-word seed phrases are secure by design, sharing or exposing them during setup can be risky. The case has sparked new talks about using longer recovery phrases and being careful when involving others in wallet management.
🇨🇳 Chinese court treats Bitcoin as property in 107 BTC memory theft case
A court in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao sentenced a man to 10 years and nine months in prison for stealing 107 Bitcoin after memorizing most of a victim’s 12-word wallet seed phrase.
⤴️ Feng asked… pic.twitter.com/yGtVSuS6I4
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