US Government Transfers $606,000 in Bitcoin Tied 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 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. Bitfinex plans to use the returned funds 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 saw Lichtenstein fraudulently authorize over 2,000 transactions, transferring 119,756 BTC to a wallet under his control. The exploit was worth roughly $72 million at the time and is now worth $8.9 billion. After years of sophisticated money laundering, investigators caught up and 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 stolen coins remained in government custody until the recent transfer.