If this story were made into a drama, it would undoubtedly be the most controversial soap opera-family mystery of early 2026—the protagonist is no ordinary person, but the once Hong Kong-wide famous financial KOL Fire Liu Sen, real name Yuen Bing-fai, who was once hailed as the "Teen Stock God."
He made his fortune early on through stock trading and Bitcoin, and his radio program "Spark to Prairie Fire" was once highly popular among countless Hong Kongers. He also published an investment book titled "I Borrowed the First Ten Million from Buffett."
However, no one could have predicted that recent court cases would reveal the most dramatic family feud.
Partner Uses Hidden Camera to Steal Mnemonic and Rob BTC
In 2023, Fire Liu Sen's divorce case reached the UK High Court. He accused his partner, Li Huanyong, with whom he is undergoing separation, of conspiring with her sister to install hidden cameras in their Brighton mansion to record him entering his cold wallet PIN and storing the mnemonic phrase, directly transferring 2,323 BTC.
After recent reports in Hong Kong's "Sing Tao Daily" and "Hong Kong Economic Times," as well as the UK's "Daily Mail" and "The Times," the case has sparked heated discussions among netizens in Hong Kong and other regions.
The incident dates back to 2023. At that time, Fire Liu Sen and Li Huanyong were going through a divorce. In early July, the trigger turned out to be their eldest daughter. She privately told Fire Liu Sen that her mother might be plotting something with the Bitcoin.
Fire Liu Sen immediately became alert. Instead of confronting her directly, he secretly installed recording devices at home to gather evidence.
According to court documents, the conversations between Li Huanyong and her sister were fully recorded. Li Huanyong said: "The Bitcoin has already been transferred to me, but will people find out that you took it?"
A more crucial and accusatory dialogue: "It's fine, take it all."
They also discussed money laundering risks, using a second wallet, and whether the police would notice... These conversations later became key evidence in court.
In his testimony submitted to the court, Fire Liu Sen clearly stated that Li Huanyong had secretly installed hidden cameras in the mansion specifically to record him operating his Trezor cold wallet.
The cold wallet was not connected to the internet and was protected by a 6-digit PIN code, with the core being a 24-word mnemonic phrase. Anyone who obtained the mnemonic phrase could restore the entire wallet on another device, instantly transferring ownership of the funds.
Later, the 2,323 BTC were indeed moved—transferred in batches to 71 different addresses and have remained untouched since. Dissatisfied, Fire Liu Sen confronted Li Huanyong, but ended up being arrested himself. He pleaded guilty to one count of actual bodily harm and two counts of common assault. He immediately reported the incident to the police, accusing Li Huanyong of stealing the Bitcoin. In December, Li Huanyong was arrested by UK police and released on bail. During the search, police found 10 cold wallets, 5 sets of mnemonic phrases, and several luxury watches at her residence, some of which were confirmed to be Fire Liu Sen's property. However, the police stated there was no new evidence and did not investigate further.
As of March 2026, the case has been formally transferred to the UK High Court for trial. Presiding Judge Cotter, after reviewing the transcript of the recordings, pointed out that the plaintiff's evidence was "devastating" and stated that the probability of success was extremely high.
Given the highly volatile nature of cryptocurrency prices, the judge specifically approved a worldwide freezing order aimed at preserving the value of the related assets through an early trial. Although the defendant, Li Huanyong, has firmly denied knowledge of the asset transfer by submitting an affidavit, the court has ruled to allow the civil litigation process to proceed.
Fire Liu Sen's Rise and Controversial History
However, behind Fire Liu Sen's professional achievements, there have also been numerous negative controversies.
He graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University with a degree in accounting in 2003. Early in his career, he worked as a commentator for Hong Kong radio stations and financial magazines. He gained fame for his accurate market predictions around the 2007-2008 financial crisis (such as bearish views on the property market and bullish strategies on gold/yen), earning him the title "Teen Stock God." He accumulated his initial capital through publishing multiple best-selling investment books, hosting financial programs, and personal stock investments.
Subsequently, his investment in Bitcoin took his wealth to a new level.
In his testimony to the UK High Court, Fire Liu Sen claimed that he began purchasing and holding large amounts of Bitcoin as early as 2010 to 2013 (when Bitcoin was priced from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars).
Holding onto the 2,323 Bitcoin until now, at a price of $100,000, would be worth $232.3 million. At the current price of $70,000, it is worth approximately $163 million.
However, in 2017-2018, there were complaints about losses from investments in virtual currency vending machines he promoted.
According to reports from multiple media outlets, Fire Liu Sen vigorously promoted a cryptocurrency called HE15 on his social platforms and in seminars. Investors were required to pay approximately HK$20,000 to HK$30,000 to purchase a so-called "cloud mining machine." The machine did not need to be taken home; it was operated by a hosting center, generating virtual currency daily, which could be exchanged for BTC or ETH on a trading platform associated with Fire Liu Sen.
Starting in mid-2018, the price of HE15 plummeted, and exchange channels were blocked. Investors found that their assets could not be withdrawn or were nearly worthless. Some investors even discovered that the so-called "high-performance mining machines" actually had extremely low hardware specifications and were sold at prices far above market value.
In early 2019, over 100 victims sought help from the Hong Kong Democratic Party and reported the case to the police. The total amount involved was estimated to be at least over HK$20 million.
In April 2019, the Hong Kong Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) took action and arrested several individuals associated with the company on suspicion of "conspiracy to defraud."
Fire Liu Sen was identified as the KOL for the project at the time, but he subsequently moved to the UK.
