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 2016 Bitfinex hack. According to on-chain data tracked by Arkham, these coins are not ordinary, as they have a court-mandated destination. The bitcoin tied to the Bitfinex hack, which resulted in Lichtenstein stealing 119,756 BTC, is required to be returned to Bitfinex rather than being liquidated 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 involved Lichtenstein hacking into Bitfinex, authorizing over 2,000 transactions, and transferring 119,756 BTC to a wallet under his control. The stolen coins were then laundered through crypto mixers, darknets, and chain-hopping between coins. In 2022, investigators seized a portion of the stolen BTC, and in 2024, Lichtenstein was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison. The US government holds bitcoin valued at approximately $24.54 billion, ether at roughly $146 million, and several other cryptocurrencies.