The United States government has made a significant move in the world of cryptocurrency by transferring $922 million worth of Bitcoin from two seized wallets belonging to Bitfinex. This development took place on February 28, the same day that Bitcoin crossed the $60,000 mark for the first time in over two years. In the 24 hours leading up to 9:45 pm UTC, Bitcoin surged by 5.52% and reached a trading price of $62,507. Over the past week, the value of Bitcoin has increased by more than 20%.
The initial transfer made by the government was relatively small, involving only 1 Bitcoin valued at $60,200 during the transfer. Shortly after, a second transaction worth 2,817 Bitcoin ($172.74 million) was sent from the government-labeled wallet. This was followed by a third transaction worth 0.01 Bitcoin ($613.35) and a fourth transaction worth a staggering 12,267 Bitcoin ($748.46 million), according to data from Arkham Intelligence.
The government’s seizure of these funds dates back to 2016 when Bitfinex suffered a major hack that resulted in the loss of approximately 119,754 BTC, which was worth over $7.4 billion at the current price. Interestingly, the transfers occurred just a day after Ilya Lichtenstein, the hacker responsible for stealing and laundering more than $4.5 billion worth of Bitcoin from Bitfinex, appeared in a Washington court to provide details about his audacious heist. Lichtenstein allegedly revealed that he had access to Bitfinex’s systems for several months and also hacked into individual accounts at other exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken.
In February 2022, Lichtenstein and his wife, Heather Morgan (known as Razzlekhan), were arrested, with the U.S. government accusing them of conspiring to launder $4.5 billion in hacked Bitcoin. In what became the largest financial seizure in history, the government confiscated $3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin. On August 3, 2022, an additional $475 million worth of Bitcoin was seized. Lichtenstein and his wife pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering conspiracy in connection with the Bitfinex hack in August 2023.
The captivating story of the Bitfinex money launderers has caught the attention of Amazon, which reportedly plans to produce a movie inspired by a 2022 article in The New York Times. The article referred to the couple as “Bitcoin’s Bonnie and Clyde.”
In light of these recent events, many are wondering why the price of Bitcoin has experienced a surge.