B.C. court grants production order to man defrauded out of $26 million in bitcoin
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.00 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.00 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/03/2025 (268 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
VANCOUVER – A B.C. Supreme Court judge has granted production orders to name cryptocurrency account holders to a man who claims he lost $26 million in bitcoin in a fraud connected to a person who claimed to live in Vancouver.
The court ruling posted Thursday was issued last month involving Lixiao Wang, who petitioned the court for a production order against cryptocurrency platforms Binance and Coinbase.
The ruling says Wang was contacted over WhatsApp in early 2024 by someone claiming to be a “cryptocurrency investment expert” in Vancouver, and Wang eventually transferred $26 million in bitcoin to an account on a website.
The ruling says Wang “became suspicious” when he lost access to his account and the site’s support team told him to deposit millions more to perform a “security audit” required to unlock his account.
Judge Bruce Elwood’s ruling says Wang hired a private investigator who traced the bitcoin transactions to accounts at Coinbase and Binance, and also determined that a B.C. driver’s licence provided by the alleged fraudster to Wang was a fake.
Elwood’s ruling says Wang’s petition was heard without notice to the companies, and he ruled that they should hand over identifying information about the account holders as “the only practical source of the personal information identifying the wrongdoers.”
Coinbase is located in the U.S. and Binance is based in the Cayman Islands. Both platforms didn’t immediately respond to emailed requests for comment about the court’s ruling.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 13, 2025.