«채굴계 여왕» 뤼융솽: 한때 전 세계 비트코인 해시레이트의 9%를 장악했지만, 미국에서 '중동 왕자' 사기로 6000만 원을 잃다
- 핵심 요지: 기사는 한때 전 세계 비트코인 해시레이트의 약 9%를 장악했던 중국의 여성 채굴 기업가 뤼융솽이 2021년 중국의 채굴 금지 이후 해외로 나가 미국에서 중동 왕실 일원을 사칭한 사기 조직에 940만 달러 이상의 손해를 입었으며, 동시에 국내에서는 계약 무효로 인해 약 2000만 위안을 반환하라는 판결을 받은 사연을 보도합니다.
- 핵심 요소:
- 뤼융솽(Fiona Lyu)은 청두 완유 해시레이트 기술을 설립했으며, 그녀의 1THash와 Bytepool 채굴 풀은 2020년 정점 시기에 합산하여 전 세계 비트코인 해시레이트의 약 9%를 차지했습니다.
- 2021년 5월 중국의 비트코인 채굴 금지 조치 이후, 뤼는 채굴기를 미국 오하이오주로 이전하여 현지의 저렴한 전력을 활용해 사업을 재개하려 했습니다.
- 사기범 주바이어 형제는 '아랍에미리트 왕실' 신분을 위조하고, 시장 비서실장에게 뇌물을 주어 시청에서 가짜 계약식을 열고 뤼로부터 940만 달러 이상(채굴기 1067대 포함)을 편취했습니다.
- 미국 법무부의 2026년 판결: 주범인 주바이어 형제는 각각 징역 24년과 23년, 뇌물을 받은 비서실장은 징역 8년을 선고받았습니다.
- 국내에서는 A주 상장사 ST중창의 전 회장이 회사 자금을 횡령하여 뤼의 회사로부터 채굴기를 구매했으나, 채굴 관련 계약이 무효로 판결되어 뤼는 약 2000만 위안을 반환해야 했습니다.
Original Author: Nicky, Foresight News
Caixin published an article on June 11 titled "Crypto Queen Scammed for $60 Million in the US: How Did the 'Middle Eastern Royal' Brothers Set the Trap?" Following the clues in the article, we investigated the remarkable story of this "crypto queen," Ms. Lyu, within the cryptocurrency industry.
According to a report by Caixin, a wealthy Chinese female crypto entrepreneur was defrauded of over $9.4 million (approximately RMB 60 million) in an investment scam in the United States. The individual is Ms. Lyu, CEO of a computing technology company based in Southwest China. At its peak, her mining pools allegedly accounted for about 9% of the global total Bitcoin hashrate.
The report states that two brothers named Al Zubair, claiming to have "Middle Eastern royal" backgrounds, perpetrated the fraud by falsifying their identities. One claimed to be a "consort of the Middle Eastern royal family," asserting he managed Middle Eastern family funds, international business connections, and local US government resources. The other impersonated a hedge fund manager, emulating characters from the American TV series *Billions*. The pair also managed to contact and influence Michael Smedley, the chief of staff to the mayor of East Cleveland, Ohio, ultimately luring Ms. Lyu into signing a contract for the development of a crypto mining facility.
Ms. Lyu, identified in the report as Lyu Yongshuang (Fiona Lyu), is a female entrepreneur born in the 1980s. Her company, Chengdu Valarhash Technology Co., Ltd., operates two mining pools: 1THash and Bytepool.
According to Caixin, Lyu was born in Ningbo in the 1980s. Before entering the crypto industry, her life had no connection to finance or technology. She initially worked in international trade, then founded a customized travel agency. She is an avid outdoor travel, diving, and sailing enthusiast. In a 2020 interview, she mentioned that from 2008 to 2018, she spent more than half of each year traveling, visiting numerous countries worldwide.
According to a previous report by TokenInsight, she first encountered Bitcoin in 2013 and immediately immersed herself in this emerging industry. At that time, China's crypto mining sector was still in its early stages, with miners venturing deep into the mountains of Southwest China to find cheap hydropower. Lyu recalled being among the first to "source electricity" in Sichuan. "The conditions were tough back then, but electricity was cheap, and profits were high. Everyone was very excited."
In 2016, she began formally building her own mining farms. From 2017 to 2018, she transitioned into mining machine sales. In July 2019, she founded Chengdu Valarhash Technology Co., Ltd. and served as CEO, integrating operations into a comprehensive platform encompassing mining pool management, farm construction, machine hosting, and hashrate trading. In December of the same year, the company held a product launch event in Chengdu, officially introducing the 1THash and Bytepool mining pool brands, along with the 1TMine hashrate contract trading platform.
At its peak in the first half of 2020, 1THash ranked 7th globally among Bitcoin mining pools, while Bytepool ranked 11th. Combined, the two pools controlled approximately 9% of the global Bitcoin hashrate. This was a staggering figure at the time, meaning that for every 100 Bitcoins produced globally, about 9 flowed to her pools.
A Government Ban and a Twist of Fate
On May 21, 2021, during its 51st meeting, the Financial Stability and Development Committee of the State Council explicitly called for "cracking down on Bitcoin mining and trading activities."
In mid-June 2021, the Sichuan Provincial Development and Reform Commission and the Sichuan Provincial Energy Bureau jointly issued a notice requiring power generation companies to conduct self-inspections and immediately cease supplying electricity to virtual currency "mining" companies. For miners in Sichuan, China's largest mining hub, this was a devastating blow. During the rainy season, hydropower prices were as low as RMB 0.2-0.3 per kWh, among the cheapest globally.
According to Caixin, Lyu later told friends it was an "extremely anxious" period. Her company had nine data centers across China, the US, Canada, Russia, and Sweden, but her core hashrate came from domestic mining farms. "Overnight, thousands of mining machines were forced to shut down. Hundreds of containers were waiting to be shipped out. Every day was burning money."
Source: Caixin
She ultimately chose the US as her first destination for relocating overseas. However, as she shipped hundreds of containers of mining machines across the ocean and sought a new foothold in Ohio, she encountered a meticulously planned scam.
According to Caixin, in July 2021, introduced by an intermediary, she met Zubair Al Zubair, a man who claimed to be a "consort of the UAE royal family" with access to Middle Eastern family funds and US local government resources. He recommended an industrial property in East Cleveland, Ohio — Nela Park — promising to supply electricity at a low price of $0.04 per kWh.
On August 11, 2021, a seemingly official signing ceremony took place at East Cleveland City Hall in Ohio. Witnessed by then-Mayor Brandon King and other city officials, a hopeful Lyu Yongshuang signed a contract for the development of a crypto mining facility. She paid $3 million to Zubair's company, "Dubai Bridge," and transferred an initial $1 million from her Hong Kong account.
Source: Caixin
However, this was merely the beginning of an elaborate scam. In reality, Zubair and his brother Muzammil were native-born Americans with no connection to any Middle Eastern royal family. The elder brother's identity as a "royal consort" was entirely fabricated. The younger brother's title of "hedge fund manager" was self-taught by watching YouTube videos and the TV series *Billions*.
In subsequent interactions, Zubair established a "close personal relationship" with Lyu Yongshuang. From Lyu's perspective, this relationship was romantic. Prosecutors later argued that such personal relationships were part of Zubair's fraud strategy, aimed at reducing the likelihood of the victim questioning his claims.
The scam ultimately cost Lyu over $9.4 million (approximately RMB 60 million), including contract fees and 1,067 mining machines (valued at $6.17 million) that were subsequently stolen by Zubair's brother and resold to Canada. The signing ceremony at the mayor's office was merely a false endorsement orchestrated by Zubair through bribing the mayor's chief of staff, Michael Smedley.
In May 2026, the US Department of Justice announced the verdict: Zubair was sentenced to 24 years in prison, Muzammil to 23 years, and Smedley to 8 years. Lyu Yongshuang appeared in the case under the codename "Victim 2."
Another Legal Battle in China
Simultaneously with the scam in the US, Lyu faced another legal dispute in China — a lawsuit involving Shanghai Jincai Network Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the A-share listed company ST Zhongchang (600242.SH).
Source: Shanghai Securities News
According to previous reports by the Economic Observer Online and Jiemian News, the incident was triggered by Li Qunnan, then-chairman of ST Zhongchang. Between January and September 2021, Li was suspected of misappropriating company funds to purchase Bitcoin mining machines and pay related hosting fees, totaling up to RMB 53.5472 million. Of this amount, the company paid Chengdu Valarhash a total of RMB 30 million for servers (Bitcoin mining machines). These procurements were disclosed in the 2021 semi-annual report as "company fixed assets for actual operations," but audits revealed that the relevant funds had not actually formed assets on the company's books.
In this context, ST Zhongchang's new management, seeking to recover losses, sued Chengdu Valarhash in April 2022 under the name of Shanghai Jincai. The lawsuit sought to terminate the "Computing Technology Service Contract" signed on April 1, 2021, and demanded the return of the contract price of RMB 19.2965 million.
In October 2022, the Chengdu High-tech Industrial Development Zone People's Court issued a first-instance verdict: the contract was deemed invalid because it involved Bitcoin "mining" activities. Chengdu Valarhash was ordered to refund RMB 19.2965 million within ten days. The company appealed, but the second-instance court upheld the original verdict.
This lawsuit, from filing to final judgment, progressed almost concurrently with Lyu's experience of being defrauded in the US. On one front, she lost $9.4 million overseas with nothing to show for it. On the other, she was ordered by a Chinese court to refund nearly RMB 20 million in contract fees. Under this double blow, the "queen of mining," who once commanded 9% of the global Bitcoin hashrate, entered the darkest period of her life.
