He lived like royalty, unnoticed by the world.
Then a $300 transaction revealed everything - and it all collapsed.
The wild rise and fall of Jimmy Chung 👇🧵
1/ Exploiting the Silk Road
The Silk Road was the infamous black market on the dark web, where all kinds of contraband were sold.
Jimmy Chung discovered a flaw in his withdrawal system - a simple timing error.
He was allowed to drain the funds immediately before the site could update account balances.
2/ The theft of 50,000 Bitcoin
Chung frequently ran the exploit:
→ Deposit BTC
→ Spam withdrawals
→ Multiply it 10x
He quietly amassed 50,000 BTC - which was worth about $600,000 at that time.
And somehow... no one noticed.
3/ Disappearing without a trace
In 2013, the FBI shut down the Silk Road.
The founder Ross Ulbricht was arrested.
But Chung?
He wasn't even on the radar.
No evidence. No suspicions. No name in the files.
As the value of Bitcoin rose, Chung's wealth soared too:
$600,000» $3.3 billion
He remained silent.
He watched his coins grow quietly - becoming a billionaire.
4/ The quiet billionaire life
Chung lived a lavish life - nightclubs, luxury cars, secret transfers.
He laundered small amounts of Bitcoin through mixing services and shell companies.
Cautious. Calm.
Just under the radar.
Even one slip changed everything.
5/ The $300 mistake
Chung transferred a small amount of stolen BTC - barely $300 - to a Coinbase account.
One problem:
He registered his Coinbase account under his real name.
This small transfer revealed his cover.
6/ The blockchain informant
Coinbase flagged the transaction. The IRS's cybercrime unit intervened.
They followed the trail - from modern wallets... back to the Silk Road addresses. All roads lead to Chung.
7/ The raid that changed everything
In November 2021, federal agents raided Chung's home in Georgia.
What they found was amazing:
- 50,676 Bitcoin
- A computer stuffed inside a popcorn box
– Gold bullion
- Hidden floor safe
This became one of the largest cryptocurrency seizures in U.S. history.
