Unforgettable "hard memory" mnemonic theft steals 107 Bitcoins; a Chinese man sentenced to ten years and nine months for theft

BlockBeats News, June 8th, according to Knews, reported that on June 7th, the Supreme People's Procuratorate disclosed a new type of virtual currency theft case. A man from Shandong, Zhang, had been assisting an acquaintance, Feng, with virtual currency transactions for a long time. After gaining Feng's trust, he proactively suggested that Feng switch to a more convenient digital wallet. The assets' mnemonic phrase (key) for such wallets is randomly generated by the system from 2,048 commonly used English words, combining 12 words, and is the core password for storing virtual currency.

Taking advantage of Feng copying the mnemonic phrase, Zhang, relying solely on his eyesight and excellent memory, memorized 11 complete words and noted the first letter of the last word. That evening, he repeatedly tested and combined fragments of memory to crack the wallet, successfully unlocking Feng's digital wallet, transferring 107 bitcoins, and later selling them illegally for a profit of 660k yuan.

The court ultimately sentenced him to ten years and nine months in prison for theft and fined 100k yuan.