US authorities return Bitfinex some of the assets confiscated after hacking in 2016

All funds will be distributed to the affected users

07.07.2023 - 12:35

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What’s new? On July 6, Bitfinex announced the return of some of the funds seized as part of the investigation into the crypto exchange’s hack in 2016. According to the press release, the company received $312 219 in cash and 6917 BCH tokens (~$1729 at the exchange rate on July 7) from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Bitfinex said that in accordance with its commitment to holders, the assets will go to redeem recovery right tokens (RRTs) issued after the hack.

Bitfinex’s press release

What else is known about the situation? Bitfinex lost 119 756 BTC ($71,8 million at the exchange rate at the time or more than $3 billion at the current price) as a result of the 2016 hack. The US government continues to make progress in prosecuting those involved and recovering the stolen funds, the company said.

The partial seizure of funds in dollars and BCH was made by Customs and Border Protection and DHS. Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino said that the return “demonstrates the commitment of law enforcement officials to diligently track all the proceeds of the crime committed against Bitfinex almost seven years ago.” He said the exchange’s team hopes to recover as many stolen BTC as possible and distribute them to holders of the tokens that were issued in response to the hack.

There are currently 30 million RRTs in circulation, and the amount received from the authorities is not enough to redeem all tokens. According to the contractual commitments, all RRTs must be redeemed at $1, after which up to 80% of the remaining recovered funds will be distributed to holders of UNUS SED LEO exchange tokens.

The Bitfinex exchange is part of the iFinex group, which also includes Tether, which issues the largest centralized stablecoin USDT.

On April 7, bitcoin exchange Mt.Gox finalized the collection of requests for refunds. Hackers withdrew 850 000 BTC from the platform in 2014, after which it ceased operations.

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