Gang of six rob more than HK$3 million in bitcoin from trader, flee after kicking him out of the car

A 37-year-old male trader trying to capitalize on the surge of Bitcoin was robbed of around HK$3 million in cash -- the value of 15 bitcoins -- and two mobile phones, minutes after being lured into in-person transaction of the cryptocurrency.

The incident comes as more traders who want to avoid the hassle of paying the service fee of online Bitcoin transactions choose to sell bitcoins in person.

A gang of six South Asian men in their 30s remain at large after fleeing on Tai Tam Road, Chai Wan in two cars.

The trader surnamed Lee was left empty-handed, after the suspects ran away with HK$3 million cash that they pretended to pay him and Lee's 15 bitcoins worth HK$235,000 each were transferred to bitcoin wallet, according to police.

Lee told police that he was picked up by two South Asian men posing as buyers in a white car outside a hotel in North Point around 5pm on Monday.

He was then driven to Chai Wan, during which he transferred 15 bitcoins to the duo on his mobile phones, while the pair handed him HK$3 million in cash.

But as Lee was counting his proceeds, the car pulled over on a hillside near Shan Tsui Court on Tai Tam Road.

Shortly afterwards, a black car arrived and four South Asian men jumped into the white car, snatched the banknotes and two mobile phones before fleeing the scene in the black car.

Later, the two buyers shouted at Lee: “Money is gone, get off my car!” and kicked him out of the car before driving away.

The incident came to light at around 8pm when Lee walked for about five minutes and approached a police officer at the nearby Hing Man Estate on Tai Tam Road.

Lee was not injured as police combed Hing Man Estate late Monday evening but to no avail.

The six suspects remained at large as of last night.

The case has been classified as robbery and is being investigated by the Eastern District Crime Squad.

  Lee, who has been a full-time Bitcoin trader for seven years, agreed to make the transaction with the two buyers via WeChat at 1pm Monday.

He had also traded his bitcoins with the two for HK$1 million online Sunday night.

In 2018, a 34-year-old local male buyer was robbed of HK$1.4 million in cash following an in-person Bitcoin transaction hoax in North Point.

Trading bitcoins in person has become popular recently, in which the buyer will clarify the acceptable currencies, banknotes and payment forms with traders beforehand, as banks are more aggressively acting against Bitcoin companies.

Other means to purchase bitcoins, including through a Bitcoin ATM, a “Bitcoin Wallet” that can be downloaded on phones and computers and exchanges, are also popular.

The price of Bitcoin has surged five times in less than a year and hit an all-time high last Christmas and early this month.

At midnight yesterday, the price per bitcoin broke through US$31,000 (HK$ 240,335), according to CryptoCompare, a website that discusses the value of various cryptocurrencies.

About 18.5 million out of a total of 21 million bitcoins have been mined and all the bitcoins will be snapped up by 2040.

Once all the bitcoins have been mined, buyers will still be incentivized to process transactions with fees.