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8300 Chinese victims apply for compensation in the case of 60,000 bitcoins related to Qian Zhimin's money laundering, where asset disposal has reached a deadlock, with multiple law firms representing and fighting for themselves. According to the UK judge, there are issues of repeated submissions, repeated debates, and prolonged procedures, and the lawyer fees are also rising, ultimately needing to be paid by the Chinese victims.It is reported that on the eve of the Lunar New Year and the first day of the New Year (February 16 and 17, 2026), the High Court of England will hold a hearing involving over 30 billion yuan, concerning nearly 130,000 Chinese victims. This is the asset disposal procedure for the highly publicized 60,000 bitcoins money laundering case. In addition, the price of bitcoin is highly volatile, and the market value of 60,000 bitcoins has shrunk from a peak of approximately 54 billion yuan on October 6, 2025, to about 31 billion yuan in early February 2026.

According to Scam Sniffer monitoring, in January, a single victim lost $12.2 million due to copying an incorrect address in their transaction history. Combined with a similar attack in December that resulted in a loss of 500,000 dollars, the two victims have accumulated losses exceeding $62 million.Address poisoning attacks refer to attackers sending small amounts of tokens from visually similar addresses to lure users into copying the incorrect address. Additionally, in January, signature phishing scams stole $6.27 million, representing a 207% increase month-over-month. Analysts believe that the Ethereum Fusaka upgrade has reduced transaction costs, leading to an increase in the frequency of such attacks.Coin Metrics data shows that dust transactions related to stablecoins currently account for about 11% of the total daily transactions on Ethereum. Whitestream indicates that DAI has become the preferred choice for illegal operators to store funds due to the protocol's governance not cooperating with authorities to freeze addresses.

This week, the High Court of England held a hearing in Manchester regarding the civil recovery case of Qian Zhimin's Bitcoin. However, this was a typical procedural hearing and did not make any rulings on asset ownership, compensation schemes, or substantive legal issues. The core issue of the hearing was who would represent the large number of Chinese victims. Judge Turner expressed concerns about the current situation multiple times, as more and more law firms are representing different groups of Chinese victims and making claims under Section 281 of the POCA. The High Court is facing the real risk of "agent proliferation." Additionally, Judge Turner also mentioned another judicial process being concurrently advanced by the High Court, concerning the UK bankruptcy liquidation process of Blue Sky Grey. It is reported that a subsequent hearing is scheduled for February 16-17, during which further arrangements or guidance may be provided regarding the specific impact of the bankruptcy liquidation process on the civil recovery case.

The annual report for 2025 published by Scam Sniffer shows that losses from cryptocurrency phishing attacks have significantly decreased, dropping 83% from $494 million in 2024 to $83.85 million, with the number of victims also declining by 68% to 106,106.In terms of types, Permit signatures remain the most common type; malicious signatures of EIP-7702 emerged after the Pectra system upgrade, with two major incidents occurring in August. Phishing losses are closely related to market activity, with the probability of occurrence positively correlated with user activity. The Ethereum price saw the strongest increase in the third quarter, while phishing losses were also the highest ($31 million). When the market is active, overall user activity increases, leading to a higher proportion of affected users.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, two American men have pleaded guilty to attacking multiple targets in the U.S. using ALPHV BlackCat ransomware.Ryan Goldberg (40) from Georgia and Kevin Martin (36) from Texas admitted to deploying ALPHV BlackCat ransomware between April and December 2023. Both are professionals in the cybersecurity industry, and they, along with another accomplice, paid 20% of the ransom as a cut to the ALPHV BlackCat administrator to gain access to the ransomware. After successfully extorting approximately $1.2 million in Bitcoin from one victim, the three split 80% of the ransom and laundered it through various means.The two defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on March 12, 2026, and could face up to 20 years in prison.

According to on-chain researcher Specter, the address that lost 50 million USDT due to phishing has left a message on-chain to the attackers, stating that a formal case has been filed. With the assistance of law enforcement agencies, cybersecurity organizations, and multiple blockchain protocols, a large amount of actionable intelligence regarding the attackers' activities has been collected.The wallet address controlled by the attackers is now under 24/7 surveillance. The attackers are required to return 98% of the stolen assets to a designated address within 48 hours; if they do so, they may keep $1 million as a white hat bounty for discovering and disclosing the vulnerability. However, this proposal is contingent upon the attackers' full and timely cooperation.Once the funds are returned, the victims will consider the matter resolved and will not take further action. If they refuse to cooperate, the case will be escalated through legal and international law enforcement channels to identify the attackers and pursue criminal and civil liability.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has initiated a fundraising campaign to support the victims of the Tai Po fire. It stated that as a public institution, the Commission will work hand in hand with all sectors of society to provide support to the victims and their families during this difficult time. The Commission calls on all employees to actively participate in the fundraising campaign and to voluntarily offer any form of assistance to those in need.The Commission will donate the entire amount raised from this fundraising campaign, along with the budget for the annual staff dinner (originally scheduled for December but now canceled), to the "Tai Po Welfare Fund" established by the Hong Kong SAR Government.

According to CoinDesk, the United States is intensifying efforts to combat overseas scams that lure people into sending cryptocurrency.On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the establishment of a "Fraud Center Special Operations Group," revealing its latest initiative to combat Myanmar scam groups that deceive Americans with false investments. This special operations group was formed with the participation of the Department of Justice and aims to tackle "pig butchering" scams, which are often orchestrated by large organized crime groups from places like Myanmar. The group is led by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia and plans to mobilize various departments, including the Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury, to dismantle Southeast Asian transnational criminal enterprises that siphon off large sums of money from Americans.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Shanghai Procuratorate's official WeChat account, the Shanghai Public Security Bureau has arrested a fraud gang disguised as so-called "cryptocurrency masters." This gang colluded in advance with relevant virtual currency investment and financial management platforms, agreeing on profit-sharing conditions—charging commissions based on the amount of investment losses incurred by clients on the platform.Driven by profit, they launched a meticulously planned scam operation. Some members were responsible for widely posting low-cost virtual currency exchange advertisements on social media, forums, and other platforms, casting a huge net and waiting for those eager for wealth to take the bait.Once someone took the bait, another group of members would quickly strike, posing as "investment experts" to befriend the victims. They would first establish a rapport with the victims, then send forged investment profit screenshots, with seemingly real profit data acting as enticing bait, gradually lowering the victims' guard and gaining

ChainCatcher news, according to the Financial Times, the UK has proposed establishing a compensation mechanism for the victims of a £61,000 Bitcoin scam, which may allow the UK Treasury to retain approximately £5 billion worth of Bitcoin assets.This massive cryptocurrency asset is at the center of a dispute in the High Court in London, with the UK government on one side and thousands of defrauded Chinese investors on the other. The investors believe that the UK government should not profit from this scam. UK Attorney General Stephen Parkinson has informed the victims that there is a possibility of establishing such a compensation mechanism, but specific details have not yet been disclosed.As early as 2018, police seized 61,000 Bitcoins from a mansion in Hampstead, North London. This batch of crypto assets has skyrocketed in value over the past seven years, currently estimated at around £5 billion. The UK government is currently trying to retain most of this asset.47-year-old Qian Zhimin, also known as Zhang Yadi, along with her 47-year-old Malaysian assistant Seng Hok Ling, pleaded guilty to money laundering charges last month at Southwark Crown Court, with sentencing expected next month. The court also learned that UK authorities recently gained access to additional crypto assets valued at approximately £67 million. Martin Evans KC, a representative lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), stated in a written submission that Zhang Yadi handed over a ledger and access codes and passwords for two cryptocurrency wallets last month.

ChainCatcher news, according to Caixin, details of the trial of the main suspect Qian Zhimin in the "60,000 BTC money laundering case" have been disclosed, indicating that the cross-border recovery efforts behind Qian Zhimin's guilty plea have just begun, and Sino-British judicial cooperation faces more arduous tests. Substantive justice is still on the way, as Qian Zhimin's guilty plea only involves two charges from the UK Crown Prosecution Service: obtaining criminal property (cryptocurrency) and possessing and transferring criminal property (cryptocurrency).Qian Zhimin's defense lawyer Roger Sahota changed his previous not guilty defense stance and stated, "She pleaded guilty today, hoping to bring some comfort to the investors who have been waiting for compensation since 2017, and to assure them that the significant increase in the value of cryptocurrency means there are sufficient funds to repay the losses," but the message he intended to convey is somewhat thought-provoking.Yesterday, a Chinese police officer personally went to London to testify, and several Chinese victims will testify remotely via video in a court in Tianjin, China. This case involves issues of cross-border money laundering and the recovery of crypto assets, and is seen as a milestone test for the regulation and governance of cross-border financial crimes in the digital currency era. Qian Zhimin is accused of illegally raising approximately 43 billion yuan through Tianjin Lantian Ge Rui Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. with Ponzi scheme-like "investment and financial management" products from 2014 to 2017, affecting 130,000 victims.

ChainCatcher news, Qian Zhimin, the main suspect in the laundering case of 60,000 bitcoins, will stand trial at the Southwark Crown Court in London. This case will become a landmark case for Sino-British judicial cooperation, cross-border asset recovery, and the disposal of cryptocurrency assets. Chinese police officers will travel to London to testify in court, and several Chinese victims will appear via remote video from a court in Tianjin, China.The trial is expected to last 12 weeks and will conclude before Christmas. This case involves issues of cross-border money laundering and the recovery of crypto assets, and is seen as a milestone test for the regulation and governance of cross-border financial crimes in the digital currency era. Qian Zhimin is accused of illegally raising approximately 43 billion yuan through Tianjin Lantian Ge Rui Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. by offering Ponzi scheme-like investment products from 2014 to 2017, affecting 130,000 victims. This case is not only one of the landmark events in the history of illegal fundraising in China but also the largest cryptocurrency money laundering case in the history of British justice.

ChainCatcher news, according to the official blog, the Sui ecosystem yield trading platform Nemo Protocol, which was recently attacked, has launched a user compensation plan, proposing to issue a debt token NEOM to compensate for user losses.NEOM will be calculated based on the on-chain snapshot of users at the time of the event pause, corresponding to their dollar losses. Nemo stated that due to insufficient funds, it cannot directly compensate in full dollars, so it has adopted the debt token strategy as the most feasible solution. Users will receive NEOM tokens during the process of migrating assets to the new contract, and can choose to exit through the AMM pool or hold while waiting for fund recovery. The team also plans to launch a NEOM/USDC liquidity pool on mainstream DEXs in Sui for users to exit instantly. Additionally, any recovered stolen funds, external financing, or strategic investments will be injected into the redemption pool, and NEOM holders can claim proportionally. The platform will also launch a dedicated website to disclose the NEOM burn progress in real-time to ensure transparency. Previously, the attacker transferred $2.6 million from Sui to Ethereum via Wormhole CCTP. Nemo is working with security teams to track the funds and establish a white hat framework and vulnerability bounty mechanism.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, the FBI has issued an urgent warning stating that scammers are posing as law firms and government employees to carry out secondary scams against victims of cryptocurrency fraud. Criminals exploit precise details about the victims to gain trust, demanding payment of "service fees" or inducing clicks on phishing links. By 2024, deepfake technology is expected to account for 40% of high-value cryptocurrency fraud cases.

ChainCatcher news, according to Wenzhou Evening News, starting from December 2022, the defendant Liu illegally obtained 544 virtual currency addresses and keys through a counterfeit digital wallet program, transferring tens of thousands of virtual currencies from victims such as Yang, resulting in significant financial losses.In order to find a reliable professional institution for handling the matter, Wang Zitai traveled back and forth between various relevant departments for several days, and finally contacted the Third Research Institute of the Ministry of Public Security through the Lucheng Public Security Bureau, entrusting them to select a mature professional disposal agency. When signing the entrustment agreement, he meticulously checked each clause, clearly defining the rights and responsibilities regarding inspection, sale, and transfer. Ultimately, the liquidation was successfully completed relying on a licensed exchange, and after completing the relevant procedures and deducting handling fees, the liquidated funds were steadily transferred to the court's special account for the case via an independent account of the Ministry of Public Security. Over 6,000 USDT coins, more than 2,700 TRX coins, and 0.8 BNB coins were converted into nearly 50,000 yuan.

ChainCatcher news, according to Wenzhou Evening News, starting from December 2022, the defendant Liu illegally obtained 544 virtual currency addresses and keys through a counterfeit digital wallet program, transferring tens of thousands of virtual currencies from victims such as Yang, resulting in significant financial losses.In order to find a reliable professional institution for disposal, Wang Zitai traveled back and forth between various relevant departments for several days, and finally contacted the Third Research Institute of the Ministry of Public Security through the Lucheng Public Security Bureau, entrusting it to select mature professional disposal institutions. When signing the entrustment agreement, he checked the terms one by one, clearly defining the rights and responsibilities regarding inspection, sale, and transfer. Ultimately, the liquidation was successfully completed relying on a licensed exchange, and after completing the relevant procedures and deducting handling fees, the liquidated funds were steadily transferred to the court's special account for the case through an independent account of the Ministry of Public Security. Over 6,000 USDT coins, over 2,700 TRX coins, and 0.8 BNB coins were converted into nearly 50,000 yuan.

ChainCatcher news, according to IT Home citing Bloomberg, the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating a former ransomware negotiation expert from DigitalMint, who is accused of reaching secret agreements with hackers to extract commissions from ransom payments, severely harming client interests. DigitalMint is a Chicago-based incident response and digital asset services company that specializes in ransomware negotiations and cryptocurrency payment services, helping clients obtain decryption keys and prevent data breaches.The investigation focuses on whether the negotiation expert violated federal laws, including conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering. If convicted, this individual could face severe penalties. DigitalMint has stated that the employee involved has been immediately terminated, and their actions are considered an isolated incident.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, a cryptocurrency "pig butchering" victim Michael Zidell has sued Citibank in federal court in Manhattan, accusing the bank of ignoring suspicious transaction alerts, which led to him being scammed out of $20 million. The complaint shows that Zidell transferred funds to multiple bank accounts controlled by the scammers through 43 transactions, with nearly $4 million going into Citibank's Guju Inc account.This "pig butchering" scam began in 2023, with the scammers posing as a businessman "Carolyn Parker" luring Zidell into investing in NFTs through Facebook. The complaint points out that Citibank failed to investigate the unusual large integer transfers occurring frequently, violating anti-money laundering monitoring obligations. By the time Zidell discovered that the trading platform named OpenrarityPro had suddenly shut down, the funds were unrecoverable.