British man accuses estranged wife of secretly recording his seed phrase and stealing 2,323 bitcoins

Techub News reports that, according to documents from the UK High Court, a man has accused his estranged wife of secretly recording him to obtain the seed phrase for his Trezor hardware wallet, resulting in the theft of 2,323 bitcoins (worth approximately $172 million). The man installed recording devices at home after his daughter warned him that his wife was attempting to steal his bitcoins. The recordings included statements such as “Bitcoin has been transferred to me” and “Take everything.” On August 2, 2023, his bitcoins were transferred to 71 different addresses, with no further transactions since then. After the man reported the incident, his wife was arrested in 2023. Police seized 10 cold wallets, but she was released after an interview without comment and was granted bail. Authorities stated they would take no further action until new evidence emerges. In November 2025, the man applied for an asset preservation injunction, seeking to declare ownership of the bitcoins and recover the assets. The judge considered his chances of winning to be “very high” and noted that the wife had the opportunity to respond but did not provide a statement. Due to bitcoin’s volatility, the court proceedings are to be scheduled as soon as possible.