The United States government transferred over $952 million worth of previously seized Bitcoin on Wednesday, the same day the cryptocurrency rose past $63,000.
According to the data from Arkham, the transfers occurred in four transactions. The first transaction was 1 BTC, followed by 2,817 BTC, 0.01 BTC, and 12,267 BTC.
Key Points:
- Four transfers moved a total of 15,085 BTC, now worth $952 million.
- Bitcoin seized from Bitfinex after the 2016 hack and is worth $7.5B today.
- Govt previously seized additional $4B in Bitcoin from couple
The test transfers of varying amounts were sent from two cryptocurrency wallets associated with a high-profile 2016 hack of the Bitfinex exchange. Nearly 120,000 Bitcoin which are now worth more than $7.5 billion, were stolen at the time.
Read more: Bitfinex Hacker Details How He Pulled Off $4.5B Crypto Heist
Bitfinex hacker laid out how he orchestrated the Bitcoin hack
The couple behind the complex scheme to launder the stolen crypto, Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan, pleaded guilty to charges last August.
As Lichtenstein took the stand Tuesday to detail the methods used, the government suddenly moved the seized funds.
The transfers and court testimony highlight the continuing fallout from one of the largest Bitcoin thefts to date.
The outcome showcases the potential vulnerabilities remaining within the crypto sector while also demonstrating the capability of law enforcement to track and retrieve digital assets.
Read more: SEC Questions $166 Million Legal Costs In Terraform Labs Case
After initially seizing over $3.6 billion in Bitcoin, the government recovered additional stolen cryptocurrency valued at nearly $500 million later. With this week’s transfers, questions loom over where the recovered assets will ultimately end up stored or spent.
The transfer by the government comes at a time when BTC surged from a 24-hour low of $58,711.63 to a high of $63,000 at press time. Bitcoin is just $6,000 away from hitting its all time high of $69,000.
