Bitcoin

Arkham

<h2 id="key-points">Key Points</h2>
<ul>
 <li>The US government has moved $922 million in Bitcoin, seized from Bitfinex in 2016.</li>
 <li>The transfer coincides with Bitcoin reaching $60,000 for the first time in over two years.</li>
</ul>
<p>The US government has recently moved a significant amount of <a href="https://crypto.ro/en/cryptocurrencies/bitcoin/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bitcoin</a> from two cryptocurrency wallets. These wallets contained funds that were seized from Bitfinex in 2016.</p>
<p>The fund transfer was carried out on the same day that Bitcoin crossed the $60,000 mark for the first time in over two years, on February 28. Bitcoin’s value increased by 5.52% in the 24 hours leading up to 9:45 pm UTC, trading at $62,507. This marks an over 20% increase in the past week for the world’s premier cryptocurrency.</p>
<h2 id="details-of-the-transfer">Details of the Transfer</h2>
<p>The initial test transfer was a single Bitcoin, worth $60,200 at the time of transfer, which occurred at 3:39 pm UTC on February 28. Following this, the government wallet sent out a series of transactions. These included a transfer of 2,817 Bitcoin ($172.74 million), a small transfer of 0.01 Bitcoin ($613.35), and a large transfer of 12,267 Bitcoin ($748.46 million), as per data from Arkham Intelligence.</p>
<p>The funds in question were seized in 2016 after Bitfinex was hacked. The hack resulted in a loss of approximately 119,754 BTC, which is currently valued at over $7.4 billion.</p>
<h2 id="context-of-the-transfer">Context of the Transfer</h2>
<p>The fund transfers were made a day after Ilya Lichtenstein, a hacker who stole and laundered over $4.5 billion worth of Bitcoin from Bitfinex, appeared in court. Lichtenstein detailed his methods in a Washington court, revealing how he managed to pull off one of the largest Bitcoin heists in history.</p>
<p>Lichtenstein reportedly had access to Bitfinex’s systems for several months. During this period, he hacked individual accounts at other exchanges, including <a href="https://crypto.ro/en/exchange/gdax/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Coinbase</a> and Kraken.</p>
<p>Lichtenstein and his wife, Heather Morgan, were arrested in February 2022. The US government accused them of conspiring to launder $4.5 billion in stolen Bitcoin. The government seized $3.6 billion of this, marking the largest financial seizure in history. An additional $475 million worth of Bitcoin was seized on August 3.</p>
<p>In August 2023, Lichtenstein and his wife pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy in connection with the Bitfinex hack. It has been reported that Amazon is planning to make a movie about the Bitfinex money launderers, drawing inspiration from a 2022 New York Times article that dubbed the couple “Bitcoin’s Bonnie and Clyde.”</p>

US Administration Transfers $922M Bitcoin Haul as Crypto Value Soars Past $60,000

Table of Contents

crypto.ro global

Other articles published on Feb 29, 2024

$4.8 Million Raised: The Unstoppable Success of the Bitcoin Dogs Presale

Coinbase Outage: $100 Bln Wiped Off In Bitcoin Market Cap

Best Buy (BBY) Beats EPS Expectations with $2.72 Non-GAAP in Q4, Despite Sales Challenges

Shiba Inu Breaks Resistance with 20% Surge, Eyes Further Gains

Why Polygon (MATIC) is a Smart Choice in 2024

New Cryptocurrency Releases, Listings, and Presales Today – Portal, beoble, 0xScans

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!