Bo Shen, founder of crypto venture firm Fenbushi Capital, has announced a public bounty for individuals or organizations that help him recover digital assets stolen from his personal wallet in November 2022. The stolen funds, now valued at approximately $42 million, include Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins. Shen is offering between 10% and 20% of any recovered amount, with the exact share determined by the level of contribution.
The bulk of the stolen assets consists of $38 million in Circle‘s dollar-backed stablecoin USDC. The haul also includes 1,607 Ethereum, nearly $720,000 in Tether‘s stablecoin USDT, and 4.13 Bitcoin. According to analysis by blockchain security firm SlowMist, the theft is believed to have resulted from a compromise of Shen’s seed phrase — the 12- or 24-word phrase used to unlock a wallet’s private key.
Shen made the bounty offer in a post on X, noting that three years of investigation have produced meaningful progress. “Our team has continued to gather critical evidence and leads. The flow of the stolen assets is becoming increasingly clear,” he wrote. He added that any contributor, regardless of identity, background, or method, would be eligible for the reward if their assistance leads to a substantive recovery.
To date, approximately $1.2 million of the stolen funds have been frozen, with credit going to on-chain analyst Taylor Monahan and pseudonymous blockchain sleuth ZachXBT. Shen reported the theft to local law enforcement shortly after it occurred, and the FBI and legal counsel have also been involved in the case. Despite these efforts, the majority of the assets remain unrecovered.
Shen believes that advances in technology since 2022 now offer a stronger chance of success. He pointed to AI-powered data analysis, on-chain forensics, and cross-platform collaboration as tools that have improved significantly in recent years. “This is not just about recovering assets,” he said. “It is about opening a real case to the community, inviting collaboration, and seeing how far the tools of the AI era can push what was once impossible.”
Founded in 2015, Fenbushi Capital reports more than $1.6 billion in assets under management. Its portfolio includes prominent crypto companies such as cryptocurrency exchange Bybit and stablecoin issuer Circle, as well as holdings in Ethereum and Zcash. The firm is one of the longer-standing venture capital operations in the blockchain industry.
Originally reported by Decrypt.
