Nearly six years after the infamous Bitfinex hack, US authorities managed to recover most of the funds and arrested two people.
After it became clear that several branches of US law enforcement agencies apprehended a man and a woman for conspiracy to launder nearly 120,000 BTC stolen from Bitfinex in 2016, the exchange’s crypto token skyrocketed by double digits.
The 119,754 bitcoins stolen in 2016 from Bitfinex is one of the largest and most discussed heists in the cryptocurrency industry. While the swiped amount was worth around $70 million six years ago, today it’s more than $5 billion due to BTC’s massive price appreciation.
The anonymous hackers have attempted numerous transfers of the stolen coins throughout the years but have failed to cash out substantial quantities as all associated wallets were blacklisted.
After nearly six years, the US Department of Justice highlighted a highly positive development on this front yesterday.
A joint investigation by IRS-CI Washington, FBI’s Chicago Field Office, HSI-New York, and others led to the arrest of Ilya Lichtenstein (34) and his wife – Heather Morgan (31) – for conspiring to launder the proceeds of the stolen bitcoins.
Keeping in mind the significance of this event, Bitfinex’s native cryptocurrency reacted in a highly positive manner.
LEO traded around $5 ahead of the DOJ’s announcement but skyrocketed by more than 60% in the following few hours.
By doing so, it surpassed a price tag of $8 and charted a new all-time high at that point. Despite retracing to just over $7 as of now, the token is still up by double-digits since yesterday.
Jordan got into crypto in 2016 by trading and investing. He began writing about blockchain technology in 2017 and now serves as CryptoPotato's Assistant Editor-in-Chief. He has managed numerous crypto-related projects and is passionate about all things blockchain. Contact Jordan: LinkedIn
