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 8 transferred BTC are 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, requiring the government to return the coins rather than liquidate them independently. The bitcoin tied to the Bitfinex hack, which saw Lichtenstein steal 119,756 BTC, will be used by Bitfinex to fully 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 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. Lichtenstein was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison in 2024 and was released in January 2026. The US government holds bitcoin valued at about $24.54 billion, ether at roughly $146 million, and several other cryptocurrencies, with the seized BTC initially intended to form part of a national strategic bitcoin reserve.