The Teen Who Lost 99,000 Bitcoins — Now Worth Over $11 Billion 😱
Back in 2010, there was this 16-year-old Chinese kid named Wei Zhang. He was just a high school student, but super curious about tech stuff. One day, while scrolling online forums, he stumbled across something weird and new — Bitcoin. Hardly anyone knew what it was, but Wei was fascinated.
With only $10 in savings (and Bitcoin worth less than a penny), he bought almost 100,000 BTC. At the time, it didn’t feel like a big deal — just some digital tokens no one cared about.
Fast forward a few years, Bitcoin started making headlines, and that tiny $10 investment turned into a small fortune. But Wei didn’t just sit on it. In 2014, at only 19, he launched CryptoLeap, the first-ever crypto margin trading exchange. The idea blew up — people from all over the world were trading on his platform. By 2017, Wei was on top of the crypto world, holding 99,000 BTC and running a powerhouse exchange.
Then came the day that changed everything.
In early 2018, Wei got an email from what looked like a big VC firm offering a partnership. The email had a nice proposal and a link to a “secure” document. Without thinking twice, he clicked it.
It was a trap. A phishing scam. The link stole his login credentials, hackers got full access to CryptoLeap, and within minutes, 99,000 BTC — his personal stash — was gone. Completely drained.
Once the news broke, panic hit the market. Bitcoin’s price dropped, users fled, lawsuits rolled in, and regulators started breathing down his neck. Wei had no choice but to step down and shut CryptoLeap for good.
Today, those stolen coins would be worth over $11 billion. Imagine losing that with a single click… 💔
But Wei didn’t disappear. He turned his pain into purpose, moving into cybersecurity and teaching people how to avoid the same mistakes he made. His story is now a massive reminder: in crypto, one small lapse can cost you everything.