In 2016, Bitfinex (then one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world) was hacked. At the time, the $60 million loss was deafening. In retrospect, those figures look like peanuts alongside the multi-billion dollar crypto market — and that money has now turned into more than $3.6 billion. 📈
And perhaps, more importantly, those who lost big will be getting their money back… even bigger. 💡
The U.S. Justice Department said that it recovered the billions tied to the 2016 Bitfinex Hack on Tuesday. It was the Department’s biggest financial seizure ever. The two people arrested reportedly conspired to launder “119,754 Bitcoin stolen after a hacker breached Bitfinex’s systems.”
Perhaps most bizarrely, the couple accused lived fairly high-profile lives. One was verified on Twitter, an amateur rapper, and a Forbes writer; the other was a Y Combinator “tech entrepreneur.” They both face 20 years in prison for money laundering with “additional sentence[s] of up to five years for conspiracy to defraud the U.S.” R.I.P.
A cryptocurrency issued by Bitfinex in the aftermath of the hack soared on the news. Unus Sed Leo was issued to “recapitalize” Bitfinex, giving them a much-needed boost after the hack. Today, the crypto surged more than 50% to all-time highs, adding billions in market cap in the process.
When you zoom out to the full length of the current bull cycle, it puts today’s price explosion into perspective. 💥
The DOJ says that it will set up a “court process for victims to reclaim the stolen Bitcoin.” However, the biggest winners are bound to be those who stayed bullish (whether they could help it or not.) The users getting back their Bitcoin (who also bought Unus Sed Leo) might be set thanks to the DOJ’s quick sleuthing. 🤑