(ECNS) -- A report released on Thursday revealed that the U.S. has leveraged its technological dominance to seize large volumes of global virtual currency assets, collecting more than $30 billion worldwide across multiple cases, according to available data.
Titled "Top player: Analysis of global virtual currency assets extortion under the US technology hegemony," the report was jointly released by the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center, National Engineering Laboratory for Computer Virus Prevention Technology, 360 Digital Security Group and Antiy Labs, on Thursday.
The study examines high-profile cases, including those involving founder and chairman of Prince Holding Group Chen Zhi and Binance founder Zhao Changpeng, claiming that U.S. authorities obtained more than 20 billion U.S. dollars combined from the two cases. It analyzes what it describes as the operational logic and technical mechanisms behind the U.S.' asset seizures, and argues that countries should strengthen their capacity to respond to emerging digital governance threats.
The report noted that in October 2025, the U.S. District Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced criminal charges against Chen, involving online scams and money laundering, while also seizing approximately 127,000 bitcoins allegedly under his control. China's Ministry of Public Security said on January 8 that Chen had been extradited from Cambodia to China the previous day in relation to a major cross-border gambling and fraud case. The case is under further investigation.
The report said that the Chen case alone accounted for roughly $15 billion in confiscated assets, accounting for about half of the total cited amount.
Zhou Hongyi, founder and chairman of 360 Security Technology, said the U.S. actions in the Chen case extend beyond the so-called justice enforcement and cracking down on fraud networks in Southeast Asia.
"Instead, it serves as a prime example of how the U.S. — leveraging rulemaking authority, technological tracking superiority, and global intelligence networks — systematically and precisely harvest assets from potential competitors or gray-zone forces," Zhou told Global Times.
On the pretext of "protecting victims' rights," the U.S. directly converted the involved virtual currency assets into a strategic financial reserve under its own control, completing a legalized transfer from the tail end of a criminal chain to national assets, said Zhou.
The report contends that such unilateral seizures may complicate international law enforcement coordination, affect asset recovery for victims, and influence the global circulation of digital assets, particularly in emerging markets. It also argues that these actions reinforce the role of the U.S. dollar in the digital finance sector, he added.
The report also addresses the case involving Zhao Chanpeng. Between 2023 and 2025, U.S. authorities pursued civil and criminal actions against Zhao. The case culminated in Binance agreeing to pay a $4.3 billion fine settlement.
Citing statistics from the U.S. Justice Department said through enforcement actions in the virtual asset sector, the U.S. can generate tens of billions of dollars in fiscal revenue annually, the report said. Meanwhile, such actions will strengthen the global reliance on the U.S. dollar for virtual currency transactions, reinforcing its position in international finance.
(By Zhang Dongfang)
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