A blockchain engineer named Zhang, working for a network company in Beijing, learned that a project account held a large amount of Ethereum. He then formed a plan to attack the company's account and steal the Ethereum. Using his work access, Zhang, under the guise of "code learning," requested program code and private keys from his colleagues, exceeding his authorized scope.

According to Zhang, he had joined a "technical exchange group" where members could profit by cracking codes to acquire virtual currency. He shared the code and private keys with the group, inviting a member named Jack to crack the code and attack the company account, aiming to obtain 106.15 Ethereum.

Zhang stated that he intended to launder the acquired Ethereum and distribute it later when the value rose. He converted the Ethereum into other forms of currency, transferred it through multiple accounts, including his wife's, and finally returned it to his own account.

When the company discovered the stolen virtual currency, they immediately filed a police report. After the Public Prosecutor's Office filed a public indictment, the Changping Court convened a panel of judges and held an open trial for the case.

The Changping Court, after reviewing evidence such as the flow of the Ethereum involved, information extracted from Zhang's computer including the Ethereum code addresses and corresponding private keys, and chat logs with his wife containing references to money laundering, as well as witness testimony, deemed that Zhang, in violation of regulations, had obtained program code and private keys from others, illegally acquired information on the company's computer system's Ethereum, and profited from the sale of some of the Ethereum.

Ultimately, the court sentenced Zhang to three years and six months in prison for the crime of illegally obtaining data from a computer information system and fined him RMB 60,000. The court also ordered the confiscation of Zhang's illegal gains of RMB 38,329.76. After the initial verdict, Zhang appealed, but the appellate court dismissed his appeal and upheld the original sentence. The case has now come to a final decision.