Chinese prosecutors are seeking to confiscate 61,800 bitcoins, and the case has been filed with the Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People's Court.
Here’s what happened: Tianjin Lantian Gerui, controlled by Qian Zhimin, sold unlicensed wealth-management products from 2014 to 2017, promising to protect investors’ principal and deliver high returns. It swindled RMB 40.378 billion from 102,000 investors, who lost nearly RMB 20 billion. Qian fled to the UK in 2017, where police detained him and seized 61,800 BTC, along with 72,700 BCH, 3.6 million XRP, and a large amount of cash and jewelry.
Two legal proceedings are now underway: the UK High Court has just ruled that Chinese law applies to the victims’ claims; the Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People's Court accepted the confiscation application on September 28 and issued a public notice on October 13, opening a six-month claims period for victims and other interested parties.
At the current price of $82,000 per coin, these holdings are worth $5.1 billion. My take: these coins are unlikely to move in the short term, effectively keeping them locked up and reducing supply to the market. The real uncertainty lies in how they’ll be handled—if they’re eventually auctioned off or used to compensate victims, billions of dollars in potential selling pressure will eventually hit the market. I don’t think this is bearish, but it’s certainly a long-term factor to watch. Keep an eye on developments after the claims period ends next April.
$BTC
Here’s what happened: Tianjin Lantian Gerui, controlled by Qian Zhimin, sold unlicensed wealth-management products from 2014 to 2017, promising to protect investors’ principal and deliver high returns. It swindled RMB 40.378 billion from 102,000 investors, who lost nearly RMB 20 billion. Qian fled to the UK in 2017, where police detained him and seized 61,800 BTC, along with 72,700 BCH, 3.6 million XRP, and a large amount of cash and jewelry.
Two legal proceedings are now underway: the UK High Court has just ruled that Chinese law applies to the victims’ claims; the Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People's Court accepted the confiscation application on September 28 and issued a public notice on October 13, opening a six-month claims period for victims and other interested parties.
At the current price of $82,000 per coin, these holdings are worth $5.1 billion. My take: these coins are unlikely to move in the short term, effectively keeping them locked up and reducing supply to the market. The real uncertainty lies in how they’ll be handled—if they’re eventually auctioned off or used to compensate victims, billions of dollars in potential selling pressure will eventually hit the market. I don’t think this is bearish, but it’s certainly a long-term factor to watch. Keep an eye on developments after the claims period ends next April.
$BTC