Hackers Move $3.55B Worth of Bitcoin From 2016 Bitfinex Hack
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Large amounts of bitcoin stolen from the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex six years ago were moved by hackers early on Tuesday.
- “So far this morning, 94,643.29 bitcoins ($3.55 billion) have been moved in 23 transactions, from a wallet associated with a theft from Bitfinex in 2016, to a new address,” blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said. These originate from a theft suffered by Bitfinex in 2016, the firm added.
- “It is unlikely that these funds will be cashed out any time soon. Funds from this hack have been slowly laundered for over five years now and cashing-out large volumes over a short period of time would draw unwanted attention,” Elliptic said.
- The number of bitcoin transferred amounted to 79% of the total 119,756 bitcoins drained from Bitfinex in 2016, one of the biggest bitcoin hacks to date.
- Twitter account Whale Alert had earlier reported on this development saying that bad actors transferred 10,000 bitcoins worth more than $383 million to an unknown wallet during Asian hours on Tuesday.
- Hackers last moved the stolen bitcoin in April 2021, transferring over $700 million worth of coins to unknown wallets during the bull frenzy brought on by crypto exchange Coinbase’s then impending listing on Nasdaq.
- A movement of malicious funds usually raises suspicion of bad actors looking to cash out and spooks markets.
- As noted in April last year, most of the bitcoin associated with the Bitfinex hack is widely tracked and blacklisted. Thus, hackers will have a tough time cashing out on prominent centralized exchanges.
- In other words, the latest movement of the hacked coins presents little downside risk to bitcoin. At press time, the cryptocurrency was trading largely unchanged on the day near $38,500.
Shaurya Malwa contributed to this story.
Read more: $623M in Bitcoin From 2016 Bitfinex Hack Moved Under Cover of COIN Hype
UPDATE (Feb. 1, 10:39 UTC): Updates the figure in the headline and the text, adds comment from Elliptic.
UPDATE (Feb. 1, 11:17 UTC): Updates fourth bullet to say Whale Alert earlier reported on the transfers.
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