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 linked to Ilya Lichtenstein, the individual behind the decade-old hack of the Bitfinex exchange. 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 walk away with 119,756 BTC, will be used by Bitfinex to fully redeem all outstanding Recovery Right Tokens and devote at least 80% of the remaining net proceeds to repurchasing and burning its UNUS SED LEO token. The 2016 hack involved Lichtenstein hacking into Bitfinex and fraudulently authorizing 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. Following 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 was released in January 2026. The stolen coins remained in government custody until the recent transfer.