A British man accuses his wife of stealing 2,323 BTC from his hardware wallet through surveillance cameras, currently worth about 172 million dollars

The High Court of England ruled last week that a lawsuit involving the theft of 2,323 bitcoins can proceed to trial. The plaintiff, Ping Fai Yuen, stated in court documents that his estranged wife, Fun Yung Li, secretly obtained the mnemonic phrase for his Trezor hardware wallet using home surveillance cameras in August 2023 and transferred 2,323 bitcoins without permission. At the time of the theft, it was worth nearly $60 million, and at the current price of about $74,000, it is now worth approximately $172 million.

Court documents show that the transferred bitcoins were dispersed to 71 blockchain addresses not held on exchanges after multiple transactions, and no further transfers have occurred since December 21, 2023. Yuen claimed that his daughter had warned Li about attempting to steal the bitcoins, after which he installed recording devices in his home. After discovering the transfer, Yuen physically attacked Li and pleaded guilty in 2024 to actual bodily harm and two counts of common assault.

Previously, Li had applied to dismiss the case, arguing that the plaintiff's core claim of "conversion" only applies to tangible property and not to digital assets like bitcoins. The judge agreed with this view but ruled that the case could proceed to trial based on other legal claims.