Chinese Crypto Millionaire Loses Millions—Blames 200 Cats for Financial Wipeout

When your portfolio tanks, who you gonna blame? The Fed? The SEC? How about... your cats?
A crypto high-roller in China just made headlines after pinning millions in losses on his 200-strong feline "investment committee." Because nothing says "risk management" like letting house pets dictate your trading strategy.
While the details remain murky, the story cuts to the heart of crypto's wild west era—where fortunes vanish faster than a memecoin rug pull. Somewhere in Hong Kong, a hedge fund manager is sipping whiskey and muttering "asset diversification" under their breath.
Lesson learned? Maybe stick to goldfish. They’ve got shorter attention spans—but at least they won’t short your Bitcoin.
Mining rigs turned into a cat inn
The farm’s owner, described by workers as a lifelong animal lover, decided to accommodate them. “Luckily, the man who owns these machines is a cat guy,” said one worker. “He bought over 200 heating mats, and we’ve been instructed to put them in a separate room for the cats.”
The impromptu shelter was set up adjacent to the main mining hall, complete with insulated walls and bedding to keep the cats warm. “I find it so beautiful that, of all animals that could have sabotaged crypto nonsense, it had to be cats. The backbone of internet culture,” said one X user.
finally, a decent use for crypto pic.twitter.com/3FMbvj1XUD
— horse dentist (@equine__dentist) November 10, 2025
Per stats from Coinwarz, the Bitcoin network’s current mining difficulty clocked 155.97 trillion hashes per second (155.97 T), so miners must perform roughly 155.97 trillion hash computations on average to find a block. Mining rigs use electric power between 1.5-3.3 kilowatts each, which equates to around 54-82 °C of heat emitted, just about the amount dozens of cats need to beat the 0-16 °C Inner Mongolia cold weather.
Despite the damage, workers say the cats are now well cared for and have become a permanent feature of the site. “They’re part of the family now. The mining rigs may be quieter, but at least the cats are warm,” one technician reckoned.
Mining in a region where it is banned
Cryptocurrency mining was officially banned in Inner Mongolia in 2021, when the region’s Development and Reform Commission declared a crackdown on crypto mining and related digital asset operations. According to Reuters, the commission said violators could face license revocations and social credit penalties if found participating or helping in mining operations.
Inner Mongolia was once a global powerhouse for bitcoin mining, accounting for nearly 8% of worldwide hash power at the time, per the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index.
However, Beijing’s push for carbon neutrality and financial risk control led to restrictions around Mainland China and Inner Mongolia. The Chinese government sent a stern warning to crypto-mining telecommunications and internet firms, and new digital coin projects were explicitly banned.
China’s State Council, led by Vice Premier Liu He, vowed to “resolutely prevent and control financial risks” from digital currencies. Inner Mongolia, responding to the directive, pledged to “clean up” its mining sector to purify the big data industry.
China and the US Bitcoin hack blame game
The cat incident comes against the backdrop of tensions between China and the United States over digital assets and cybersecurity earlier this week. Beijing’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Centre accused Washington of orchestrating a massive Bitcoin theft from a Chinese-linked mining pool known as LuBian.
According to Chinese officials, cited by Cryptopolitan, American state-backed hackers allegedly stole 127,272 Bitcoin, worth approximately $13 billion, from LuBian in December 2020. The agency claimed a “state-level hacker operation” came from the US government, and that US authorities later confiscated the stolen tokens in a separate money-laundering case involving Cambodian businessman Chen Zhi.
The US Department of Justice evidently filed a civil forfeiture case to seize the 127,271 Bitcoin, but declined to explain how it gained control of the tokens.
If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.