US Government Transfers $606,000 in Bitcoin Linked to 2016 Bitfinex Hack to Coinbase

The US government has moved approximately $606,000 worth of bitcoin to Coinbase, with on-chain data indicating the transferred coins are linked to the 2016 Bitfinex hack. The transferred 8 BTC are part of the 119,756 BTC stolen by Ilya Lichtenstein, with a court order mandating their return to Bitfinex. The returned funds will be used to redeem outstanding Recovery Right Tokens and repurchase UNUS SED LEO tokens. The 2016 hack saw Lichtenstein authorize over 2,000 transactions, transferring 119,756 BTC, then worth $72 million. After years of money laundering, investigators seized a portion of the stolen BTC in 2022, and Lichtenstein was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison in 2024. The US government holds bitcoin valued at $24.54 billion, ether at $146 million, and other cryptocurrencies, with the returned coins set to be used by Bitfinex to compensate affected customers and reduce its UNUS SED LEO token supply.