Of course that txn would show up on-chain, but if you don't have possession of the private key for the first account, and no digital device has ever "seen" the hardware account then he would've been fine.
This is assuming the key piece of evidence was his private key, and he wouldn't have been prosecuted without it.
Additionally, putting your key in cloud storage sounds like the dumbest thing ever... Just memorize your seed phrase and write it down. Its 4bn for christ sake.
Memorizing a seed phrase leaves you vulnerable to a $5 wrench attack, I wouldn't recommend it.
Of course the problem is the attacker may not know what method you used and resort to the $5 wrench attack anyway :)
Not stealing $3.6B might be an even safer bet.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/11/bitcoin-family-hides-bitcoin...
The article mentions he had many wallets.
> Taihuttu is trying to put a crypto cold wallet on every continent so it’s easier to access his holdings.
I hope it’s at least encrypted with an additional passphrase, otherwise it’s only as strong as the weakest bank’s security.
> Taihuttu has two hiding spots in Europe, another two in Asia, one in South America, and a sixth in Australia.
> We aren’t talking buried treasure – none of the sites are below ground or on a remote island – but the family told CNBC the crypto stashes are hidden in different ways and in a variety of locations, ranging from rental apartments and friends’ homes to self-storage sites.
I hope this is all a decoy or else it’s the worst opsec I’ve seen since about five hours ago.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/02/man-who-refused-...
Printing the paper wallets, putting them in a $1 glass jar with a silica packet and burying in your back yard would have been 100 times smarter.
If gov got to you, it probably doesn't matter how well you got it protected.