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

The US government has made a significant move on the blockchain, transferring approximately $606,000 worth of bitcoin to Coinbase Prime. The transferred 8 BTC are linked to Ilya Lichtenstein, the individual behind the decade-old Bitfinex hack, according to data tracked by Arkham. While transfers to exchanges can indicate potential selling pressure, they can also reflect routine movements or non-selling activities. The bitcoin tied to the Bitfinex hack has a court-mandated destination, with the government required to return the coins to Bitfinex rather than liquidating them. Bitfinex intends to use the returned funds to redeem all outstanding Recovery Right Tokens and allocate at least 80% of the remaining net proceeds to repurchase and burn its UNUS SED LEO token. The 2016 hack saw Lichtenstein fraudulently authorize over 2,000 transactions, transferring 119,756 BTC to a wallet under his control, worth roughly $72 million at the time. The stolen coins were laundered through crypto mixers, darknets, and chain-hopping before investigators seized a portion of the stolen BTC in 2022. Lichtenstein was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison in 2024 and released in January 2026. The US government holds bitcoin valued at approximately $24.54 billion, ether at roughly $146 million, and several other cryptocurrencies.