Why Did US Government Transfer $1B From Bitfinex Hack?
Yesterday, the United States government handed over nearly $1 billion in funds seized from the 2016 breach of crypto exchange Bitfinex, which netted $4.5 billion.
The destination wallet addresses are not known. However, hacker Ilya Lichtenstein is cooperating as a witness in the case, detailing how he carried out the attack.
Funds obtained from Bitfinex Hack in monitoring
According to information from Arkham Intelligence, the United States federal government transferred approximately $921.4 million from the wallets that contained the funds seized from the Bitfinex hack.
Meanwhile, on February 28, Liechtenstein Turns out he was testifying against the crypto mixer he used for a $4.5 billion hack in 2016.
According to a recent report, Liechtenstein is now helping the US government to testify. He details how he pulled off the massive Bitcoin heist.
He also revealed that Liechtenstein had seized Bitfinex's systems for months. Additionally, it hacked individual accounts at Coinbase and Kraken.
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He explained that he used a crypto mixer known as Bitcoin Fog. Additionally, he admitted to using crypto mixers up to 10 times to launder a portion of the stolen funds.
He said his motivation to hack the exchange stemmed from the problems he faced at a tech startup in San Francisco.
US Government Cracks Down on Crypto Mixers.
This follows news that the US government is cracking down on crypto mixers in the country.
In the year In August 2023, BeenCrypto reported that the US government had officially sanctioned Roman Semenov, the founder of the Tornado cash mixer. Authorities have accused North Korean hackers of helping him launder hundreds of millions in stolen funds.
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Meanwhile, in October 2023, the U.S. government proposed legislation targeting crypto mixers, aiming to bring it in line with laws applied to foreign banks and jurisdictions.
The proposal mandates careful handling and reporting of transactions involving crypto-mixers.
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