US government initiates around $922 million in bitcoin transfers from seized Bitfinex hack funds

The U.S. government appears to have transferred out about $922 million worth of bitcoin from two crypto wallets that held funds seized from a 2016 Bitfinex hack, according to data from Arkham Intelligence.

One wallet first transferred out 1 bitcoin ($60,200) on Wednesday afternoon EST and subsequently transferred out 2817 bitcoin worth around $172.74 million to unidentified addresses, the data showed.

Also on the same day, another wallet transferred out 0.01 bitcoin and 12,267 bitcoin worth about $748.46 million. That brought the total value of the bitcoin transfers from the two wallets to around $922 million, according to the data.

The U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to The Block’s request for comment.

The two wallets contained the funds the government seized in a Bitfinex hack that occurred in 2016. In August 2023, tech entrepreneur and rapper Heather Morgan, also known as ‘Razzlekhan’, and her husband Ilya Lichtenstein pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy in connection with the 2016 hacking of the crypto trading platform Bitfinex. The Department of Justice said in an August statement that it seized about 95,000 of the stolen bitcoin from crypto wallets in the defendants’ control.

The transfers coincided with a surge in bitcoin prices on Wednesday. Bitcoin BTC +8.23% briefly reached $64,000 on some exchanges on the day before retreating to around $60,000. The world’s largest crypto by market capitalization was trading at $61,515 at 10 a.m. Hong Kong time, according to The Block’s Price Page .