South Korea Recovers $21.4M in Seized Bitcoin After Hack
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- The institutionalisation of Bitcoin confiscation in South Korea traces back to 2018, when the Supreme Court initially stated that cryptocurrencies are intangible assets.
- Last week, the investigation unveiled that the Seoul Gangnam Police Station has also lost about 22 BTC kept in a cold wallet since 2021.
The attorneys from South Korea have reportedly recovered around $21.4 million worth of bitcoin stolen from their custody in 2025, as per the local media reports. In December 2025, the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office found that they had lost the bitcoin captured from a raid on a gambling platform.
The internal scrutiny unveiled that the bitcoin was hacked in August after investigators accidentally accessed a phishing website and went into a recovery seed phrase. On February 17, the hack gave 320.8 BTC back to the wallet held by officials, as per the reports of local news outlet Digital Asset.
Prosecutors revealed they had blocked centralised exchange transactions comprising the wallet of the hacker, which makes it hard to liquidate the bitcoin. However, the identity of the hacker is still unknown.
The report mentioned that prosecutors have since shifted the returned bitcoin to a local exchange for protection and will carry on to trace down the identity of the hacker. At the same time, the incident has brought a nationwide review of investigative agencies’ management of captured digital assets.
Last Week’s Investigation
Last week, the investigation unveiled that the Seoul Gangnam Police Station has also lost about 22 BTC kept in a cold wallet since 2021. The BTC was surrendered to Gangnam police in November 2021; however, the leak was undetected as the investigation had been suspended. Also, the physical USB wasn’t ever stolen, and the bitcoin it held was eventually extracted.
The Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency officially accepted that it has rolled out an internal investigation to control the exact circumstances of the leak and if there was any internal involvement.
The institutionalisation of Bitcoin confiscation in South Korea traces back to 2018, when the Supreme Court initially stated that cryptocurrencies are intangible assets having property value subject to the Criminal Procedure Act.
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South Korea Recovers $21.4M in Seized Bitcoin After Hack
Share:
- The institutionalisation of Bitcoin confiscation in South Korea traces back to 2018, when the Supreme Court initially stated that cryptocurrencies are intangible assets.
- Last week, the investigation unveiled that the Seoul Gangnam Police Station has also lost about 22 BTC kept in a cold wallet since 2021.
The attorneys from South Korea have reportedly recovered around $21.4 million worth of bitcoin stolen from their custody in 2025, as per the local media reports. In December 2025, the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office found that they had lost the bitcoin captured from a raid on a gambling platform.
The internal scrutiny unveiled that the bitcoin was hacked in August after investigators accidentally accessed a phishing website and went into a recovery seed phrase. On February 17, the hack gave 320.8 BTC back to the wallet held by officials, as per the reports of local news outlet Digital Asset.
Prosecutors revealed they had blocked centralised exchange transactions comprising the wallet of the hacker, which makes it hard to liquidate the bitcoin. However, the identity of the hacker is still unknown.
The report mentioned that prosecutors have since shifted the returned bitcoin to a local exchange for protection and will carry on to trace down the identity of the hacker. At the same time, the incident has brought a nationwide review of investigative agencies’ management of captured digital assets.
Last Week’s Investigation
Last week, the investigation unveiled that the Seoul Gangnam Police Station has also lost about 22 BTC kept in a cold wallet since 2021. The BTC was surrendered to Gangnam police in November 2021; however, the leak was undetected as the investigation had been suspended. Also, the physical USB wasn’t ever stolen, and the bitcoin it held was eventually extracted.
The Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency officially accepted that it has rolled out an internal investigation to control the exact circumstances of the leak and if there was any internal involvement.
The institutionalisation of Bitcoin confiscation in South Korea traces back to 2018, when the Supreme Court initially stated that cryptocurrencies are intangible assets having property value subject to the Criminal Procedure Act.
Highlighted Crypto News Today:
Aptos Proposes 2.1B APT Supply Cap and Lower Staking Rewards in Major Tokenomics Overhaul
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Bitcoin Soars: BTC Price Surges Above $68,000 in Remarkable Rally