A report released on February 26 has brought the role of the United States in the crypto world to the forefront of public opinion.
The report titled "No. 1 Player - In-Depth Analysis of Global Virtual Currency Asset Harvesting Actions Under US Tech Hegemony," jointly released by the China National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center, 360 Digital Security Group, and other institutions, presents detailed data and cases, depicting a reality that is starkly different from the narrative of "decentralization": The United States is systematically harvesting global crypto assets by leveraging its technological advantages and long-arm jurisdiction.
This is not a simple law enforcement action but a "combined punch" covering technical surveillance, rule-making, and asset confiscation.
1. Shocking Numbers: $30 Billion "Harvesting" Ledger
● The most striking aspect of the report is a set of quantitative data. According to incomplete statistics, between 2022 and 2025, the United States is expected to confiscate global virtual currency assets worth over $30 billion through various cases.
● What does this scale mean? During the same period, the total market capitalization of global virtual currencies is approximately $2.73 trillion, equivalent to 47% of the world's official gold reserves. The enforcement intensity of the United States in this area far exceeds that of traditional financial cases.
● Even more shocking is the concentration - just the Chen Zhi case and the Zhao Changpeng case contributed nearly $20 billion, accounting for two-thirds of the total.
2. Two Landmark Cases: From "Technological Breakthrough" to "Fine Harvesting"
The report defines the Chen Zhi case and the Zhao Changpeng case as "typical samples" of US technological hegemony, fully presenting the "technological breakthrough - regulatory support - institutional enforcement" harvesting closed loop.
Chen Zhi Case: $15 Billion "Black Eating Black"
● In October 2025, the Eastern District Attorney's Office in New York announced criminal charges against Chen Zhi, the founder of the Cambodian Prince Group, on charges including telecom fraud and money laundering. At the same time, it publicly announced the confiscation of approximately 127,000 bitcoins under his control, worth about $15 billion at that time—setting a record for the largest virtual asset confiscation in the history of the US judicial department.
● However, the origin of this asset is quite complicated. A provenance report previously issued by the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center pointed out that a significant portion of these bitcoins originated from a national-level hacker attack against China's LuBian mining pool in 2020. The United States, after stealing through technical means, then completed the "legal" confiscation under the name of "fighting transnational crime."
● Zhou Hongyi, founder of 360 Group, commented that this is a typical case of "the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind"—while the United States indulges telecom fraud, it seizes enormous profits through technological hegemony, while the real victims have not recovered their losses.
Zhao Changpeng Case: $4.3 Billion "Compliance Tax"
● From 2023 to 2025, the U.S. initiated dual accountability against Binance and its founder Zhao Changpeng through "civil + criminal" actions, ultimately resulting in Binance paying a $4.3 billion fine and Zhao Changpeng signing a plea agreement.
● Du Zhenhua, a senior engineer at the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center, analyzed that the logic behind U.S. law enforcement is: first, using domestic regulations to bring global platforms under long-arm jurisdiction, then infiltrating servers through hacking to obtain violations evidence, and finally achieving economic harvesting through hefty fines.
3. Technical Surveillance: Invisible "Chains"
Key Position of On-Chain Analysis Companies
● The report specifically names American on-chain analysis companies such as Chainalysis and Elliptic, emphasizing that these companies occupy over 90% of the global on-chain tracing market. They can not only identify address ownership and construct fund flow maps but also interact with law enforcement agency databases, providing technical support for various investigations.
● This means that global crypto trading activities are largely exposed to the same surveillance framework at the technical level. When key data and address profile algorithms are concentrated in the hands of a few American companies, other countries can only passively accept their risk labels.
State-Sponsored Hacker Attacks
● The report reveals that from 2023 to 2025, hacker organizations with U.S. government support targeted more than 20 major virtual currency exchanges around the world, using methods such as implanting backdoors, spear phishing, and supply chain infiltration, focusing on stealing users' wallet private keys and platform transaction flow.
● Xiao Xinguang, founder of Antiy Labs, pointed out that from the timeline comparisons, some of the attack actions are associated with the law enforcement actions of the U.S. Department of Justice and the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of Treasury.
4. Strategic Intent: "Anchoring" Digital Gold and Dollar Hegemony
The United States’ enthusiasm for crypto assets is not solely to fill fiscal deficits.
● As of the end of January 2026, the market value of global virtual currency assets has reached 47% of the world's official gold reserves. Whoever holds the pricing, liquidity, and confiscation rights of virtual currencies will master the high ground of future digital finance.
● Xiao Xinguang analyzed that the bitcoins auctioned off and liquidated are just "a drop in the bucket" of the United States' plunder, with more becoming strategic bitcoin reserves. The United States aims to hedge against the global de-dollarization trend by controlling "digital gold," consolidating its economic hegemony.
● The report concludes that the United States, relying on technological hegemony, hiding behind financial innovation, and using virtual currencies as a vehicle, is implementing systematic harvesting globally to maintain dollar hegemony.
5. Institutional Competition: A New Divide in the Crypto World
● The timing of this report's release is intriguing. Just recently, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee published the consultation text of the crypto market structure bill, aiming to establish clearer regulatory rules for the digital asset market.
● Critics point out that the CLARITY Act mandates real-time transaction monitoring and the use of qualified custodians, which will significantly raise compliance costs—only leading crypto companies will be capable of bearing it, while small and medium players will face structural disadvantages. Companies like Chainalysis will thus continue to receive sustained market demand.
● On one end is a U.S.-centered system of compliance, monitoring, and long-arm jurisdiction, while on the other end is a confrontational narrative emphasizing cyber sovereignty and technological independence. Virtual currencies are no longer just asset classes but have been integrated into the grand scene of great power competition and rule games.
When key technologies, data, and judicial discretion are highly concentrated in the hands of a few countries, how much can the so-called "decentralized" financial system achieve real power decentralization?
For global participants, the realistic choices are becoming increasingly clear: whether to further connect to the compliance system centered around the United States in exchange for liquidity, or to actively weaken associations with the jurisdiction of U.S. law to hedge risks?
The $30 billion confiscation storm is not just a redistribution of wealth, but a warning about financial sovereignty in the digital age. In the face of the "chains" formed by technology and rules, so-called "borderless assets" ultimately cannot escape the gravity field of geopolitics.
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