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

The US government has transferred approximately $606,000 worth of bitcoin to Coinbase Prime, with on-chain data suggesting the 8 BTC are linked to the 2016 Bitfinex hack. The transferred coins are subject to a court-mandated destination, requiring the government to return them to Bitfinex rather than liquidating them. 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 UNUS SED LEO tokens. The 2016 hack, which saw 119,756 BTC stolen, was perpetrated by Ilya Lichtenstein, who was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison in 2024. The seized BTC, valued at $3.6 billion at the time, remained in government custody until the recent transfer.