US Government Moves $1 Billion in Bitcoin Seized From Bitfinex Hacker

In brief

• U.S. government-linked wallets moved 12,267 BTC, worth about $1.01 billion, from the Bitfinex hack seizure to a new, unlabeled address on Thursday, per Arkham.
• The transfer followed Wednesday flows of about $119 million in USDT and roughly 2,574 BTC to Coinbase Prime, which also offers custody, so a sale isn't confirmed.
• A March 2025 executive order directs forfeited Bitcoin into a reserve that won't be sold. The government still holds about $24.85 billion in Bitcoin.

The U.S. government just shuffled more than $1 billion worth of Bitcoin tied to one of crypto's most notorious hacks.

A wallet that blockchain analytics firm Arkham labels as holding the Bitfinex hacker's seized funds sent 12,267 BTC, worth about $1.01 billion, in a single transaction at 9:33 a.m. ET on Thursday. Nearly all of it landed at a new, unlabeled address, while 0.0012 BTC went to a second wallet.

The coins didn't go to an exchange, and moves between wallets aren't necessarily a sign of a sale. Arkham's data does mark both outputs as already spent, though, meaning the coins have since moved again.

The Bitcoin is part of roughly 94,000 BTC the government seized in 2022 from Ilya Lichtenstein, who orchestrated the 2016 Bitfinex hack, and his wife, Heather "Razzlekhan" Morgan. As Decrypt reported in April, the government also moved a small batch of about 8.2 BTC from the same seizure to Coinbase Prime.