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Key Takeaways
- A court has ruled that 120,000 Bitcoin from the 2016 Bitfinex hack must be returned to the exchange.
- The seized Bitcoin was originally worth $71 million and has appreciated to over $4 billion.
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A court has ruled that approximately 120,000 Bitcoin seized from the 2016 Bitfinex exchange hack should be returned to Bitfinex and through “in-kind restitution,” according to a new filing shared by DB News.
As expected
*GOVT SAYS SEIZED BITCOIN FROM 2016 BITFINEX HACK SHOULD BE RETURNED IN-KIND
Do they just ask Paolo for the addy? https://t.co/8iwx6J1XR6 pic.twitter.com/ndNd1UrdWG
— db (@tier10k) January 15, 2025
The Bitcoin stash was valued at $71 million at the time of the theft. The stolen assets have since appreciated to nearly 12 billion.
On July 6, 2023, Bitfinex received $312,219.71 in cash and 6.917 BCH from the US Department of Homeland Security as part of ongoing recovery efforts. These funds will be used to redeem Recovery Right Tokens issued to holders following the hack.
Concerns emerged on October 25, 2024, when about $20 million in crypto seized from the hack was moved from US government-controlled wallets. The defendants, Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan, were sentenced in November 2024 after pleading guilty to money laundering charges.
Law enforcement has recovered approximately $10 billion in stolen assets through various seizures since arresting the pair in February 2022. The remaining seized assets will be subject to separate forfeiture proceedings.
This is a developing story.
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This article first appeared at Crypto Briefing
