$467K In Crypto Seized As Spain Cracks Down On Illegal Piracy Platform

Spanish authorities seized two cold wallets containing roughly €400,000 (about $467,000) during a raid that led to three arrests in Almería tied to the country’s largest Spanish-language manga piracy platform. Officials have not confirmed whether they can access the funds locked by PINs or seed phrases, underscoring persistent custody and asset-recovery challenges for law enforcement. The site reportedly earned more than €4 million (~$4.55M) since 2014. The story highlights operational risks around hardware wallets and past cases where seized crypto — including a high-profile South Korean loss of ~22 BTC — went missing, reinforcing market attention to custody and regulatory enforcement rather than driving price moves. Bitcoin (BTCUSD) was trading around $77,860 at the time of publication; the seizure’s size is negligible relative to market cap but contributes to broader sentiment and regulatory scrutiny around crypto custody.