The US government transferred some of the Bitcoins in its possession related to the Bitfinex attack, which has been a concern for the cryptocurrency markets for a long time, to the Coinbase Prime wallet, worth approximately 606 thousand dollars in total. According to on-chain data, the 8 Bitcoins carried in this transfer appear to be linked to Ilya Lichtenstein, who was involved in the cyber attack on Bitfinex in 2016. Lichtenstein stole a significant amount of BTC during this period and the incident remained on the agenda for a long time.
Traces of the 2016 Bitfinex attack are being traced
The Bitfinex attack in August 2016 became one of the most remarkable events in the history of cryptocurrency. The total amount of Bitcoin taken under Lichtenstein’s control during the attack reached 119,756. The total value of stolen coins at that time was $72 million. With today’s market value, this amount is approaching 8.9 billion dollars.
Following the attack, Lichtenstein transferred the funds through various crypto mixers and different blockchain networks, leaving no trace for years. It was also determined that some of the income obtained was used to purchase gold.
As a result of a long investigation, some stolen Bitcoins were recovered in 2022. Meanwhile, the total value of the seized coins was around 3.6 billion dollars. By 2024, Lichtenstein was sentenced to 60 months in prison and was released early in 2026. It was also recorded that he thanked US President Donald Trump on social media.
Cryptocurrency return process and Bitfinex’s plan
The courts ordered the US government to return these seized Bitcoin assets directly to Bitfinex rather than liquidate them. This decision means that publicly held coins cannot be transferred to the US Treasury.
Bitfinex announced that it will first use the assets it will recover to make full payments to digital rights holders called Recovery Right Tokens. In addition, it aims to buy back and burn at least 80 percent of the remaining amount and the exchange’s UNUS SED LEO token.
Bitfinex officials emphasize that with the return of the assets in question, they will resolve past grievances and the rights of token holders will be protected.
Cryptocurrency reserves held by the USA attract attention
The US administration has a large reserve of cryptocurrencies, not only those seized from the Bitfinex attack, but also recently collected from different cases. According to official figures, the United States holds approximately $24.54 billion worth of Bitcoin, $146 million worth of Ethereum and various amounts of other digital assets.
Although the cryptocurrency community sees the government’s occasional transfer of such assets to major exchanges as possible selling pressure, not all transfers may mean direct sales. In some cases, such transactions may only be related to the reorganization of wallets or new storage methods.
