•Bitfinex has recovered some of the stolen assets from the 2016 Bitcoin hack.
•The United States Department of Homeland Security returned $312,219 in cash and 6.9 in Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
•Two individuals were arrested in connection with the Bitfinex hack and US authorities seized control of the funds.
Bitfinex Recovers Assets From 2016 Hack
Crypto Exchange Bitfinex has announced that it has recovered some of the stolen assets from the 2016 Bitcoin hack but stated that a considerable number of assets are still yet to be recovered.
Assets Returned By U.S Department Of Homeland Security
The exchange revealed that it had managed to recover $312,219 in cash and 6.9 in Bitcoin Cash (BCH) worth around $1951 at today’s prices. The assets were returned by the United States Department of Homeland Security who seized control of them after arresting two individuals in connection with the Bitfinex hack.
U.S Government Progressing With Prosecution
Bitfinex stated that they have been working with authorities to recover all stolen funds and return them to customers and that the United States government was continuing to make progress in prosecuting the individuals involved with the breach. The United States Customs and Border Protection agency conducted the seizure of these recovered assets as part of their duty under law enforcement for The Department Of Homeland Security .
2016 Hack One Of Largest In Crypto History
The Bitfinex hack was one of the biggest hacks to hit crypto at its time, with hackers managing to steal around 119,756 Bitcoin (BTC) from the exchange due to a security breach; which was worth around $71 million at then-current prices but is now valued at over $3.6 billion due to crypto’s massive appreciation since then . On several occasions, hackers moved these stolen crypto across wallets for money laundering purposes however US authorities tracked them down and arrested a married couple from New York named Ilya Lichtenstein & Heather Morgan for conspiracy on this case .
Bitfinex CTO Thanks Authorities
Paolo Ardoino , Chief Technology Officer at Bitfinex thanked relevant authorities for making this recovery possible saying “We are extremely pleased to be able to reach another successful milestone in recovering our lost assets…. We look forward further recovering as much bitcoin as we can & redistributing same back into circulation ”