A new document from the U.S. government says Bitfinex may be the only one who can get paid back for the famous 2016 hack in which the exchange stole 119,756 Bitcoin. The government doesn’t know of any other victims who meet the criteria right now, but they want to hear from people who think they were hurt.
What Bitfinex Did About the Hack
After the hack in August 2016, Bitfinex quickly made up for the huge loss by giving it to all of its users. They took about 36% off of customers’ account funds and gave them a new token called BFX as a way to make up for it. iFinex, the parent company of Bitfinex, let people sell these BFX coins for a set price of $1 each or trade them in for shares. By redeeming all BFX tokens within eight months, the company showed that it was serious about fixing the problem.
People who chose to buy iFinex shares got more Recovery Right Tokens (RRT). We made these tokens so that any stolen money could be reimbursed. At the moment, about 30 million RRTs have not been claimed, but iFinex promises to refund them as soon as the funds are recovered.
What the government did and possible compensation
Even though Bitfinex has taken moves to pay its users, the U.S. government knows that thousands of account holders may still have lost money. To fix this problem, the government is thinking about making a website where possible victims can report themselves and find out more about the case.
Two people, Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan, were caught by the Department of Justice in 2022 for helping to hide stolen Bitcoin. The government took $3.6 billion in cryptocurrency that was linked to the hack, and the couple later admitted guilt. The Department of Homeland Security took an extra $312,219.71 in cash in 2023 and gave 6.917 Bitcoin Cash to people who owned RRT.
What the hack did
The stolen Bitcoin was worth about $72 million at the time of the hack in 2016. The value of those coins has gone through the roof, and now they are worth about $7.5 billion. This is one of the biggest thefts in the history of cryptocurrency. Bitcoin exchange Bitfinex has done a lot to repay its users, but more repayment may be possible as the U.S. government continues its probe.
This case is a stark warning of how important security and openness are in the cryptocurrency world. Security breaches like these have long-lasting effects on both the people who are affected and the market as a whole.
