US government says Bitcoin seized from 2016 hack should be returned to Bitfinex
Court orders restitution of digital assets despite guilty pleas for money laundering and conspiracy charges.
Key Takeaways
- A court has ruled that 94,000 Bitcoin from the 2016 Bitfinex hack must be returned to the exchange.
- The seized Bitcoin was originally worth $3.6 billion and has appreciated to over $9.3 billion.
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A court has ruled that over 94,000 Bitcoin seized from the 2016 Bitfinex exchange hack should be returned to Bitfinex and through “in-kind restitution,” according to a new filing shared by DB News.
As expected
*GOVT SAYS SEIZED BITCOIN FROM 2016 BITFINEX HACK SHOULD BE RETURNED IN-KIND
Do they just ask Paolo for the addy? https://t.co/8iwx6J1XR6 pic.twitter.com/ndNd1UrdWG
— db (@tier10k) January 15, 2025
Valued at $3.6 billion when seized by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2022, the Bitcoin stash was part of a haul of approximately 120,000 BTC stolen in a historic crypto exchange hack. At current market prices, these seized funds are worth around $9.3 billion, per CoinGecko.
According to a 2023 report from Chainalysis, US authorities, through a collaborative investigation involving the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations, initially recovered over 94,000 BTC of stolen Bitcoin. Following additional recovery efforts from August 2022 to January 2023, the total amount recovered increased to over 108,068 BTC as of June 2023.
Bitfinex said in July 2023 that it had received $312,219 in cash and 6.917 BCH from the US Department of Homeland Security as part of ongoing recovery efforts. These funds will be used to redeem Recovery Right Tokens issued to holders following the hack.
US government identifies Bitfinex as primary victim
The latest report comes after the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia in October 2024 filed a legal motion where it stated Bitfinex may be the only entity eligible for restitution from the 2016 hack.
The government sought permission to use alternative notification methods to identify potential victims, though it believes Bitfinex is likely the sole qualifying victim under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CVRA) and the Mandatory Victim Restitution Act.
“The government is not aware of any person who qualifies as a victim under the CVRA or for restitution under the MVRA, beyond perhaps Bitfinex, the Victim Virtual Currency Exchange,” the filing stated.
This is a developing story.
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