Recovery for Victims of the 2016 Bitfinex Bitcoin Heist

McCune Wright Arevalo, LLP, is investigating bringing legal action on behalf of account holders following the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) recovery of the $3.6 billion in Bitcoin stolen from Bitfinex customers in a 2016 hack.

In August 2016, hackers successfully stole 119,756 Bitcoin from the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange – an amount equal to $72 million at the time.

 The hackers accessed users’ wallets on the Bitfinex platform and siphoned out the cryptocurrency.

 The effects of this breach were felt immediately. The trading price for Bitcoin plummeted instantly following the hack and Bitfinex ceased all trading.

 Even customers whose wallets remained untouched suffered a 36 percent loss.

To this day, the crime remains unsolved. However, with the arrest of a married couple in February 2022 came a new break in the case.

 The DOJ officials investigating discovered a virtual treasure trove of the stolen 119,756 Bitcoin, now worth an astonishing $3.6 billion.

DOJ’s Recovery of the Stolen Bitcoin After the Bitfinex Hack

The stolen Bitcoin was immediately stored in a single wallet following the heist where it appreciated in value until 2017 when the wallet owner slowly began laundering the Bitcoin through various dark web transaction sites.

 The married couple that was arrested in connection with the hack later used the Bitcoin to make leisure purchases, but 80 percent of the initial amount remained unspent.

 The United States government seized the Bitcoin during their investigation.