The United States Department of Justice has discovered a huge stash of cryptocurrency in a popcorn tin after raiding a hacker’s home.
Over 50,676 bitcoins, worth around $3.36 billion at the time of discovery, were hidden on various devices found within the home of the hacker who had stolen them from the dark web marketplace Silk Road, The Independent UK reports.
The 32-year-old hacker was identified as James Zhong. He was said to have exploited a loophole in the website’s payment structure.
Zhong pleaded guilty last week to committing wire fraud in September 2012, according to report.
The law enforcement agents found the stolen crypto nearly a decade later on hard drives and USB sticks in Mr Zhong’s home.
The DOJ in a press release said the cryptocurrency was located “in an underground floor safe; and on a single-board computer that was submerged under blankets in a popcorn tin stored in a bathroom closet”.
According to the DOJ, the discovery was the second largest financial seizure in history.
“For almost ten years, the whereabouts of this massive chunk of missing bitcoin had ballooned into an over $3.3 billion mystery,” said US Attorney Damian Williams.
“Thanks to state-of-the-art cryptocurrency tracing and good old-fashioned police work, law enforcement located and recovered this impressive cache of criminal proceeds.
“This case shows that we won’t stop following the money, no matter how expertly hidden, even to a circuit board in the bottom of a popcorn tin.”
Meanwhile, the suspect has since voluntarily surrendered additional bitcoin obtained through Silk Road in 2012.
Silk Road is no longer in operation, having been shut down in 2013 after rising in popularity to become the world’s largest online marketplace for illegal drugs and illicit goods.
Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht is currently serving a life sentence in federal prison.
Mr Zhong faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on 22 February, 2023.
