On Thursday, Bitcoin holdings tied to the $9 billion 2016 hack of crypto exchange Bitfinex were reportedly moved by U.S. government-connected addresses, transferring approximately 8.2 BTC to Coinbase Prime, as per data from Arkham Intelligence.
Currently valued at about $628,000, these coins had not been moved for two years until a different U.S. government address transferred them to what Arkham identified as the “Bitfinex hacker seized funds” wallet.
Attempts by Decrypt to obtain confirmation from a Department of Justice representative regarding the connection of these coins to Bitfinex or their recent movement were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.
Moving crypto assets to an exchange often signals an impending sale, but the U.S. government’s intentions for this BTC transfer remain undisclosed.
This Bitcoin amount is only a small part of over 94,000 Bitcoin seized by U.S. authorities during investigations leading to Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan’s arrest related to the hack and subsequent fund laundering. The current value of these seized funds exceeds $7.2 billion.
In 2016, Lichtenstein exploited a security flaw on Bitfinex, resulting in the theft of 119,754 BTC—equivalent to $9.18 billion at present rates. He was arrested in 2022 for conspiracy to commit money laundering and pleaded guilty in 2023. In 2024, he received a five-year prison sentence for money laundering.
His wife and business partner, Morgan, who is also a rapper, faced similar charges and received an 18-month federal prison term.
Before their sentencing, Lichtenstein and Morgan reached a plea agreement in 2023, agreeing to forfeit the remaining proceeds from nearly 120,000 BTC stolen during the heist.
Both were recently released from custody, attributing their early release to President Trump, despite no official action by him to commute the sentences. At that time, Morgan publicly thanked “Papa Trump” for shortening her sentence, stating, “So razzle-fucking-dazzle.”