![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/bitcoin-worth-3billion-discovered-secretly-stashed-in-popcorn-box/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/newspress-collage-20362580-1667920766384.jpg&description=NEARLY £3 billion in Bitcoin stolen a decade ago from a notorious dark web drug marketplace has finally been found - with some of it stored in a popcorn tin. Cops found the stash hidden on computer devices stored at the home of James Zhong, from Georgia, in the United States. US agents found the stash hidden on computer devices stored at a home in GeorgiaCredit: US DoJ Cops found the devices holding the crypto hidden in an underground floor safeCredit: US DoJ Zhong, 32 pleaded guilty on Friday to committing wire fraud in 2012, after he hacked more than 50,000 Bitcoin - worth £2.9billion - a decade ago from the dark web marketplace Silk Road. He faces up to 20 years in prison after one of the biggest Bitcoin busts of all time. Cops found the devices holding the crypto hidden in an underground floor safe and on a single-board computer that was concealed under blankets in a popcorn tin stored in the bathroom. US Attorney Damian Williams said: "For almost ten years, the whereabouts of this massive chunk of missing bitcoin had ballooned into an over $3.3 billion [£2.9billion] mystery. "Thanks to state-of-the-art cryptocurrency tracing and good old-fashioned police work, law enforcement located and recovered this impressive cache of crime proceeds." Bitcoin is a digital currency that is completely virtual and outside the control of governments and central banks – like an online version of cash. Investment in crypto currencies is risky as the market value fluctuates wildly. Its value recently crashed below £17,000, down from £61,000 just a year ago. Silk Road, which first appeared on the dark web in 2011, was an online black market where users could anonymously buy and sell illegal goods – including drugs and fake driving licences. A sting operation carried out in 2013 found a then 29-year-old Ross Ulbricht to be the mastermind of the operation, which sold $200m worth of drugs all over the world. Using the alias 'Dread Pirate Roberts' – named after the fictional character){kind=link}
NEARLY £3 billion in Bitcoin stolen a decade ago from a notorious dark web drug marketplace has finally been found – with some of it stored in a popcorn tin.
Cops found the stash hidden on computer devices stored at the home of James Zhong, from Georgia, in the United States.
Zhong, 32 pleaded guilty on Friday to committing wire fraud in 2012, after he hacked more than 50,000 Bitcoin – worth £2.9billion – a decade ago from the dark web marketplace Silk Road.
He faces up to 20 years in prison after one of the biggest Bitcoin busts of all time.
Cops found the devices holding the crypto hidden in an underground floor safe and on a single-board computer that was concealed under blankets in a popcorn tin stored in the bathroom.