Seoul Police Lose 22 BTC Valued at $1.5M from Cold Storage
An official audit triggered by a prior incident involving 320 Bitcoin has revealed the disappearance, sparking renewed questions about how government agencies manage confiscated cryptocurrency.
An investigation is underway in South Korea following the mysterious disappearance of 22 Bitcoin that had been confiscated in a 2021 case and stored in a cold wallet at a police station in Seoul, as reported by domestic news outlets.
The missing 22 Bitcoin (BTC), currently valued at approximately $1.5 million, were in the custody of Gangnam Police Station and were found to be absent during a countrywide examination of cryptocurrency custody protocols, as Friday's Seoul Economic Times report indicated.
Officials have stated that the 22 Bitcoin were moved to an external destination, despite the fact that the cold wallet containing the digital assets remained physically secure and was not taken.
This probe comes on the heels of another incident at the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, where 320 BTC, currently valued at roughly $21.3 million, went missing in August 2025. In that particular instance, prosecutors attributed the loss to a compromised password resulting from a phishing operation.
These incidents are generating increased attention regarding law enforcement agencies' capability to manage seized Bitcoin and their protocols for securing digital currencies.
Audit uncovers broader custody failures
Following the 320 Bitcoin incident, the National Police Agency reportedly launched a comprehensive examination of confiscated cryptocurrency assets throughout South Korea. Throughout this examination, investigators found that the 22 Bitcoin that had been turned over to the Gangnam station back in November 2021 were missing from their custody.
The 22 Bitcoin had been willingly turned over to law enforcement during a criminal probe in November 2021. Nevertheless, the investigation is currently on hold without reaching a definitive outcome following the disappearance of the BTC from the cold storage wallet.
The Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency has taken charge of examining the situation and identifying any persons who may have been involved in the unauthorized Bitcoin transaction.
In January, the Supreme Court of South Korea issued a decision stating that Bitcoin stored on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges can be confiscated by law enforcement authorities.
Under the Criminal Procedure Act, Bitcoin now qualifies as an "object of seizure" due to its classification as electronic information possessing independent manageability, tradability and economic value.
This judicial decision indicates that South Korean citizens who store their Bitcoin on cryptocurrency exchanges may have their digital assets frozen when connected to suspected criminal investigations.