Cryptocurrency can make you rich, but did you know that it can also make you rich quickly and easily? That's what James "Jimmy" Zhong discovered when he found a glitch in the Silk Road website.
Cryptocurrency has the potential to make you rich apace but there's a catch: it's also one of the most vulnerable forms of currency to theft.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that was created in 2009. It is a decentralized digital currency, meaning that it is not subject to government control.
Bitcoin is often used for illegal activities, such as drug trafficking and money laundering.
The Silk Road was an online black market that operated from 2011 to 2013. It was a marketplace where users could buy and sell illegal drugs, weapons, and other contraband. It was shut down by the FBI in 2013.
Where is started?
James "Jimmy" Zhong was a 20-year-old college student at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
He was convicted of stealing over $3.36 billion worth of Bitcoin from the Silk Road.
The glitch on the website allowed Jimmy to withdraw more funds than what was initially deposited, and he used it to steal over 51,680 Bitcoin from the site between 2012 and 2014.
He later concealed his identity and used the stolen Bitcoin to buy luxury goods, such as cars and jewellery. He also invested some Bitcoin in other cryptocurrencies.
Zhong's scheme went undetected for nearly 10 years. However, the FBI was eventually able to track him down. The FBI used a technique called "chain analysis" to trace the movement of the Bitcoin.
Chain analysis is a process of tracking the movement of cryptocurrency through the blockchain, which is a public ledger of all cryptocurrency transactions.
The FBI raided Zhong's lakefront home in Gainesville, Georgia on November 9, 2021. They seized about 50,676 Bitcoin from Zhong, then valued at over $3.36 billion.
Zhong cooperated with investigators and pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. He was sentenced to a year and a day on April 14.
