Crypto Exchange Bitfinex Recovers More Than $300,000 From 2016 Hack

Key Points:

• Bitfinex recovers $315,000 in cash and crypto from the 2016 hack with the help of US authorities.
• The assets, including 6.917 Bitcoin Cash, were seized from individuals accused of laundering the stolen funds.
• The recovered funds will be distributed to holders of Bitfinex’s Recovery Right Tokens (RRT) in a pro-rata manner.

Crypto exchange Bitfinex said that it collaborated with authorities to recover around $315,000 in cash and cryptocurrencies stolen in a 2016 hack on its website.

The assets came from the US Department of Homeland Security, which was essential in capturing the stolen digital assets and prosecuting the perpetrators, Bitfinex stated in a statement on Thursday. Around 120,000 Bitcoins, worth approximately $72 million at the time, were taken. The haul is worth around $3.7 billion at the current market price.

The digital asset trading platform Bitfinex reported the restitution of $312,219.71 in cash and 6.917 Bitcoin Cash (BCH) from the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as part of continuing efforts to recover assets taken during the 2016 security incident. The recovery value at today’s Bitcoin Cash pricing is $314,196.

Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan and Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein, a couple detained last year for allegedly laundering billions of dollars in Bitcoin from the robbery, are among individuals previously accused of keeping cash from the attack. The seizure was carried out by US Customs and Border Protection, a law enforcement department inside the Department of Homeland Security.

Bitfinex’s Chief Technical Officer, Paolo Ardoino, acknowledged the company’s happiness with this recovery milestone and thanked for law enforcement authorities’ efforts.

“This specific seizure demonstrates the commitment of law enforcement officials to diligently track all the proceeds of the crime committed against Bitfinex almost seven years ago,” he said.

The fund will be given to holders of Bitfinex’s Recovery Right Tokens, which are digital tokens given to individuals who lost money in the breach. Since there are around 30 million RRTs in circulation, each investment will most likely get just a tiny portion of the recovery. RRT holders will have their tokens redeemed pro rata today, July 6, 2023, at 12:00.01 AM UTC, depending on the amount of their RRT holdings. Bitfinex is continuing to work actively with law enforcement and legal institutions to retrieve the stolen assets.

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