They Stole $3 Billion Worth of BTC
Bitfinex, one of the largest platforms in the cryptocurrency sector, fell victim to a massive attack in 2016, resulting in the hacking of billions of dollars worth of BTC. Recently, US authorities made a significant breakthrough in the 2016 hack and arrested two individuals. One of them, Reyhan “Heather” Morgan, of Turkish origin, seems to have reached a deal.
Ilya Lichtenstein and Morgan will be retried and appear in court on August 3. The reason for this trial is a recent agreement reached on July 21. The duo, convicted of crimes such as money laundering, fraud, and electronic fraud, seems to have reached an agreement with the US government. It was determined that they managed to launder 94,643 BTC out of the 119,754 BTC hacked in 2016. The funds, valued at $54 million during the hack, reached a value of $3.6 billion shortly after.
The agreement reached is said to have expedited the process. However, it is not known exactly how the information will be provided. The duo, who reached an agreement with the US government and US officials, is expected to provide information specifically on money laundering with BTC. As a result, new events may emerge in the industry, and the situation may worsen for the entire cryptocurrency sector.
Agreement between the US Government and BTC Hackers
This trial and meeting, scheduled for August 3, will reveal exactly what the US government wants. It is also known that the funds have already been seized by the US government. Whether there is access to the wallets containing billions of dollars’ worth of BTC remains unknown. The US government may have reached an agreement to gain access to these funds as well. If the US government manages to access these funds, it appears that they may take a similar step as they did with the seized BTC funds of Silk Road, gradually selling them off.
The price of BTC may be negatively affected by this new seizure news.
