US government initiates approximately $922 million in bitcoin transfers from seized Bitfinex hack funds

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By Harper Lee

Politics • February 28, 2024, 9:37 p.m. EST

Published 1 minute ago on

The US government appears to have transferred approximately $922 million worth of bitcoin from two crypto wallets containing funds seized in a 2016 Bitfinex hack, according to data from Arkham Intelligence.

A wallet first transferred 1 bitcoin ($60,200) Wednesday afternoon (Eastern Time), then transferred 2,817 bitcoins worth approximately $172.74 million to unidentified addresses, according to the data.

Also on the same day, another wallet transferred 0.01 bitcoin and 12,267 bitcoins worth approximately $748.46 million. This brings the total value of bitcoin transfers from the two wallets to around $922 million, according to the data.

The U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to The Block’s request for comment.

Both wallets contained funds seized by the government during a 2016 Bitfinex hack. In August 2023, tech entrepreneur and rapper Heather Morgan, also known as “Razzlekhan”, and her husband Ilya Lichtenstein pleaded guilty to the money laundering conspiracy in connection with the 2016 hack of the crypto trading platform Bitfinex. The Justice Department said in an August statement that it seized approximately 95,000 bitcoins stolen from crypto wallets under the control of the defendants.

The transfers coincided with a surge in bitcoin prices on Wednesday. Bitcoin BTC

-0.51%

The day briefly reached $64,000 on some exchanges before retreating to around $60,000. The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was trading at $61,515 as of 10 a.m. Hong Kong time, according to The block price page.


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