The government is moving cryptocurrency it seized in the wake of the Bitfinex hack
The US government has transferred $922 million in Bitcoin from two crypto wallets that maintained the funds seized after the Bitfinex platform was hacked in 2016.
The transfers happened on the same day Bitcoin surpassed $60,000 on February 28, the first time it’s reached that point in more than two years. Bitcoin increased 5.52% in the 24 hours before 9:45 PM UTC to reach $62,507, a 20% climb in the last week.
The first test transfer of one Bitcoin occurred on February 28 at 3:39 PM, with the second transfer sent from the US government-labeled wallet worth 2,817 Bitcoin ($172.74 million), a third transaction worth 0.01 Bitcoin ($61,335) and a fourth transfer worth 12,267 Bitcoin ($748.46 million), based on data from Arkham Intelligence.
The US government seized the funds after Bitfinex was hacked in 2016 for about 119,754 BTC, worth over $7.4 billion at current prices.
The transfers also occurred the day after Ilya Lichtenstein appeared before a court in Washington describing how he planned one the biggest Bitcoin thefts in history. Lichtenstein is the hacker who swiped and laundered over $4.5 billion in Bitcoin from the Bitfinex platform.
Lichtenstein told the jury on February 27 that he had gained entry to Bitfinex’s systems several months before and was hacking accounts at other exchanges like Kraken and Coinbase at the time.
He and his wife, Heather Morgan (also known as rapper Razzlekhan), were apprehended in February 2022 and pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy in August 2023. The US government alleged they plotted to launder $4.5 billion in hacked Bitcoin. The feds seized another $475 million worth of Bitcoin on August 3, 2022.
Emma Rodriguez is the Proofreader at the Big Blind, with seven years of experience and five years in online gambling. She plays a crucial role in maintaining content quality by ensuring error-free, reader-friendly information about the gambling industry.
