News

Police seize $60 million worth of bitcoin from crypto fraudster

German prosecutors have confiscated more than 50 million euros ($60 million) worth of bitcoin from a fraudster. There’s a catch, however: they can’t unlock the money because he won’t give them the password!

According to a prosecutor in the Bavarian town of Kempten, the man was sentenced to jail and has since served his term, maintaining his silence throughout while police made repeated failed efforts to crack the code to access more than 1,700 bitcoin.

We asked him but he didn’t say,” prosecutor Sebastian Murer told Reuters on Friday. “Perhaps he doesn’t know.

Bitcoin is stored on software known as a digital wallet that is secured through encryption. A password is used as a decryption key to open the wallet and access the bitcoin. When a password is lost the user cannot open the wallet.

The fraudster had been sentenced to more than two years in jail for covertly installing software on other computers to harness their power to “mine” or produce bitcoin.

When he went behind bars, his bitcoin stash would have been worth a fraction of the current value. The price of bitcoin has surged over the past year, hitting a record high of $42,000 in January. It was trading at $37,577 on Friday, according to cryptocurrency and blockchain website Coindesk.

Prosecutors have ensured the man cannot access anything from his stash, however.

Sponsored
Hamza Zakir

Platonist. Humanist. Unusually edgy sometimes.

Share
Published by
Hamza Zakir

Recent Posts

Garena Free Fire India Launch Rumors: What Fans Need to Know

Reports suggest that Garena Free Fire is set to make a much-anticipated return to India.…

15 hours ago

Albania Bans TikTok for One Year: Here’s the Reason!

The Albanian government has announced a ban on the social media platform TikTok for a…

19 hours ago

Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. 8 Pro: Biggest Upgrades Compared

The launch of Google’s latest Pixel lineup brings an exciting chance to compare the new…

21 hours ago

Azad Kashmir to Host Pakistan’s First Women-Centric Software Technology Park

ISLAMABAD: In February next year, Pakistan is set to launch its first women-focused software technology…

22 hours ago

HEC Reveals Law Admission Test Date for LLB Students

The Law Admission Test (LAT) has been announced by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of…

22 hours ago

Meta’s WhatsApp to Release New Playback Speed Feature for Videos

Meta's WhatsApp is rolling out a new playback speed feature, allowing users to adjust video…

1 day ago