Ilya Lichtenstein has been sentenced to five years in a US prison for laundering proceeds from the 2016 Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange hack, which involved the theft of nearly 120,000 bitcoin. The stolen bitcoin, initially worth $70 million, had increased to over $4.5 billion by the time of his arrest. Lichtenstein's wife, Heather Morgan, who used the alias Razzlekhan, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and is awaiting sentencing. The case resulted in the largest financial seizure in the US Department of Justice's history, recovering $3.6 billion in assets.
Ilya Lichtenstein, a New York tech entrepreneur, was sentenced to five years in prison for laundering funds stolen from the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange in 2016, with the help of his wife, Heather Morgan. The couple was arrested in February 2022 after the stolen bitcoin, initially worth $71 million, appreciated to over $4.5 billion. This case led to the largest financial seizure in the history of the U.S. Department of Justice, recovering $3.6 billion. Morgan, who also pleaded guilty, is set to be sentenced in November.
Ilya 'Dutch' Lichtenstein was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a major Bitcoin heist, where he and his wife, Heather Morgan, laundered money stolen from the Bitfinex exchange in 2016. Lichtenstein and Morgan, who pleaded guilty last year, attempted to conceal the proceeds from the hack, which are now valued at billions. Morgan, also known as 'Razzlekhan,' is set to be sentenced on November 18, with prosecutors recommending an 18-month sentence for her.
Bitcoin surged 11.5% to near $57,000, led by Bitfinex traders and boosted by spot buying on Binance, with Pantera founder Dan Morehead attributing the rally to institutional capital inflows and the impending BTC reward halving. OKX launched a platform in Turkey to cater to the growing crypto adoption and transaction volume in the country, while Uniswap's UNI token surged 60% after proposing to distribute protocol fees to token stakers, leading to a whale address liquidating 90,000 tokens.
Paolo Ardoino, the chief technology officer for Tether, has been promoted to CEO of the stablecoin company, taking over from Jean-Louis van der Velde. Tether is one of the largest stablecoin operations globally, with its USDT token maintaining a one-to-one peg to the US dollar. Ardoino, who has been the face of Tether for years, will continue to serve as the chief technology officer while assuming his additional duties as CEO. Van der Velde will transition to an advisory role at Tether while remaining CEO of Bitfinex. Tether has faced scrutiny over transparency, and Ardoino has stated that the company is working on releasing a full audit.
The Southern District of New York court has dismissed a class action lawsuit against stablecoin issuer Tether and its affiliated company Bitfinex. The lawsuit alleged that Tether's stablecoin USDT was not backed one-to-one with US dollars. The court found that the complaint lacked plausible allegations of injury and had no legal merit. Tether has stated that it remains focused on delivering on its promises and protecting its customers and community.
A married couple known as "Bitcoin Bonnie and Clyde" pleaded guilty to money laundering charges related to a yearslong heist involving the theft of nearly 120,000 bitcoins from cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. Ilya Lichtenstein admitted to hacking the exchange and enlisting his wife, Heather Morgan, to help hide the stolen funds. The couple faces potential prison sentences of up to 20 years and agreed to forfeit $72 million. The Department of Justice has recovered $3.6 billion in assets and another $475 million in connection with the case. Sentencing dates have not yet been set.
Heather Morgan, also known as Razzlekhan, and her husband have pleaded guilty to orchestrating a billion-dollar money laundering scheme involving stolen Bitcoin from the Hong Kong-based exchange Bitfinex. The couple, dubbed the "Bitcoin Bonnie and Clyde," used fake identities, shell companies, and darknet marketplaces to launder the stolen funds. They were caught when they used the stolen Bitcoin to purchase Walmart vouchers, leaving a traceable trail. Authorities recovered stolen funds valued at approximately $3.6 billion and other incriminating evidence during a raid on their Manhattan apartment. Morgan and Lichtenstein face potential prison sentences of up to 20 years and 5 years, respectively.
A New York City couple has pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in connection with the 2016 hack of cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, which resulted in the theft of approximately 120,000 bitcoin. The husband used advanced hacking tools to gain access to Bitfinex's network and fraudulently authorized over 2,000 transactions, transferring the stolen bitcoin to a wallet under his control. The wife assisted in laundering the proceeds through various methods, including setting up online accounts with fake identities and exchanging bitcoin for gold coins and other cryptocurrencies. A significant portion of the stolen funds was moved to the now-defunct darknet market AlphaBay, and later converted to fiat currency and purchased gift cards. The couple faces potential prison sentences of up to 20 years and 10 years, respectively.
Ilya "Dutch" Lichtenstein, a New York man, has pleaded guilty in federal court to being the original hacker behind the 2016 Bitfinex bitcoin hack, admitting to a conspiracy to launder the stolen cryptocurrency, which was valued at $4.5 billion. Lichtenstein's guilty plea came before his wife, Heather Rhiannon Morgan, was expected to appear in court for her own plea hearing. The couple was charged with attempting to launder over 119,000 bitcoin stolen in the hack, although they were not charged in the hack itself. Lichtenstein will remain in jail until sentencing and has agreed to cooperate with federal investigators.
The price of Bitcoin on Bitfinex's perpetual swap market briefly surged above $56,000 due to low liquidity, with trading volume on Bitfinex's BTC-PERP market rising to 322 BTC ($9.1 million) for two minutes. Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino assured market participants that the system worked as expected and the matching engine handled all orders correctly. Perpetual swaps, such as the BTC-PERP market on Bitfinex, are a type of derivative contract that allows traders to speculate on the future price of an asset like Bitcoin without an expiration date.
Bitcoin's price on Bitfinex's perpetual swap market briefly surged above $56,000 amid a spike in trading volume, but liquidity remained low. The flash rally occurred at the same time as bitcoin surged 2.5% on spot markets elsewhere as investors reacted to the stock prices of two banks plunging by more than 30%. Bitfinex's chief technology officer said the matching engine handled all orders correctly, but some traders' positions were liquidated during the rally.
Major cryptocurrencies experienced a slide as traders sold holdings to lock in gains, with Dogecoin and Polygon's MATIC leading losses with declines of over 8%. Bitcoin and ether stabilized at support levels, while XRP and Cardano's ADA dropped 4%. BNB coin gained after decentralized exchange Uniswap expanded to the network. Bitfinex analysts said that while long-term indicators still indicate strength in the crypto market, a shorter-term view describes the latter stages of a bear market.
