2016 Bitfinex hack
In August 2016, the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange announced it had suffered a security breach.[1] Immediately thereafter, Bitcoin's trading price plunged by 20%.[2] After learning of the breach, Bitfinex halted all Bitcoin withdrawals and trading.[3] In that hack, the second-biggest breach of a Bitcoin exchange platform, 119,756 units of Bitcoin,[2] worth about $72 million at the time, were stolen. The Bitcoin was taken from users' segregated wallets and Bitfinex said it was tracking down the hack.[4] Exchange customers, even those whose accounts had not been broken into, had their account balance reduced by 36% and received BFX tokens in proportion to their losses.[5] The exchange's access to U.S. dollar payments and withdrawals was then curtailed. The hack happened even though Bitfinex was securing the funds with BitGo, which uses multiple-signature security.[6]
In February 2022, a New York couple, Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife, Heather Morgan, were charged by US authorities with conspiring to launder the bitcoin, which was then worth $3.6 billion.[7][8] According to Justice officials, Lichtenstein and Morgan are charged with conspiracy to launder money, which has a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and conspiracy to defraud the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.[9]
References
- ^ "Bitfinex comes back from $69 million bitcoin heist". May 21, 2017. Archived from the original on May 22, 2017.
- ^ a b Tsang, Amie (August 3, 2016). "Bitcoin Plunges After Hacking of Exchange in Hong Kong". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 18, 2017.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
autogenerated2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Bitcoin Worth $72M Was Stolen in Bitfinex Exchange Hack in Hong Kong". Fortune. Archived from the original on November 20, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ Baldwin, Clare (August 6, 2016). "Bitfinex exchange customers to get 36 percent haircut, debt token". Reuters. Archived from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
- ^ "Bitcoin worth $72 million stolen from Bitfinex exchange in Hong Kong". Reuters. 2016-08-03. Retrieved 2021-10-14.
- ^ Barrett, Devlin (February 8, 2022). "Feds arrest couple, seize $3.6 billion in hacked bitcoin funds". The Washington Post.
- ^ Lyngaas, Sean (February 8, 2022). "Feds arrest a New York couple and seize $3.6 billion in stolen cryptocurrency". CNN News. p. 1. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
- ^ Lyngaas, Sean (February 8, 2022). "Feds arrest a New York couple and seize $3.6 billion in stolen cryptocurrency". CNN News. p. 1. Retrieved February 9, 2022.