In 2023, an attempt to buy 6 million barrels of Venezuelan oil went badly wrong for a Polish buyer, who reportedly lost $230 million in cryptocurrency. The funds were loaded onto USB drives and physically handed over to individuals who turned out to be scammers, according to a single report from Tom's Hardware. No other sources were cited, so the details rest entirely on that account.
The episode stands out not just for the size of the loss, but for the method of transfer. Rather than a standard digital transaction, the crypto was delivered on portable hardware, which blur the line between digital assets and physical objects. This approach made verification of the recipient especially difficult.
The case also brings crypto wallet ownership identification to the forefront. When funds are moved via USB, the question of who legally controls the private keys—and who can prove it—becomes critical. The report notes this incident puts such ownership questions at the center of the discussion, though it offers no broader conclusions about policy or regulation. As more large-scale deals attempt to use cryptocurrency in unconventional ways, this case may serve as a cautionary example of what can go wrong.