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

The US government has been active on the blockchain, transferring approximately $606,000 worth of bitcoin to Coinbase Prime. The transferred 8 BTC are reportedly linked to Ilya Lichtenstein, the individual behind the decade-old Bitfinex hack. According to on-chain data tracked by Arkham, these coins have a court-mandated destination. In early 2025, federal proceedings solidified the in-kind restitution of the seized assets to Bitfinex. The returned funds will be used to fully redeem outstanding Recovery Right Tokens and allocate at least 80% of the remaining net proceeds to repurchase and burn the UNUS SED LEO token. The 2016 hack involved Lichtenstein hacking into Bitfinex, authorizing over 2,000 transactions, and transferring 119,756 BTC to a wallet under his control. The exploit was worth roughly $72 million at the time and is now valued at $8.9 billion. The US government seized a portion of the stolen BTC in 2022, valued at $3.6 billion, and Lichtenstein was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison in 2024. The government holds bitcoin valued at about $24.54 billion, ether at roughly $146 million, and several other cryptocurrencies.