Saw the analysis report released by the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center, and it basically says: The 127k $BTC confiscated from Chen Zhi’s group were actually stolen by the U.S. hacker organization in 2020 during a “black-on-black” operation. Why? Because after this massive amount of Bitcoin was stolen, it sat untouched for 4 years, which doesn’t align with the usual behavior of hackers who are eager to cash out. It wasn’t until Chen Zhi’s group got busted recently that the U.S. government finally found an excuse to step in, using long-arm jurisdiction to reasonably start moving these Bitcoins. Now that they’ve been confiscated, how will the U.S. handle these assets? Here are a few possible directions— 1⃣ Victim compensation—this seems unlikely. Under federal law (18 America.C. § 981), victim compensation takes priority. According to incomplete stats, victims of pig-butchering scams are estimated to have lost $5.8 billion. While it’s possible that these funds could be used for compensation through administrative procedures in the future, victims would first need to file claims via the DOJ’s victim notification system or court processes, and cross-border recovery faces legal challenges. Even if it happens, it’d take at least 5 years to materialize. 2⃣ Traditional auction—also unlikely. Before 2025, about 90% of confiscated crypto was disposed of via auctions. For example, in the Silk Road case (2014-2015), around 144k $BTC were auctioned off, generating $48 million. However, after the policy shift in 2025 toward reserves, auctions are mainly used to meet cash needs or for victim compensation. 3⃣ Strategic Bitcoin reserve—most likely. The Bitcoin from the Chen Zhi case clearly meets the requirements for reserve fund sources (Bitcoin from criminal/civil forfeiture procedures). Under the division of responsibilities between the U.S. Treasury and DOJ, these assets could theoretically be transferred into the national strategic reserve pool for emergency or financial stability purposes. So at this point, everything starts to make sense: Assets aren’t stolen for nothing—they need a legitimate reason: anti-fraud. Coins aren’t confiscated randomly—they need a legal process: forfeiture. It looks like a judicial action to you, but why does it feel more like wealth transfer to me?