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Meghna Das Chowdhury
Feb 1, 2022
by Meghna Das Chowdhury

2016 Bitfinex Hack With $2.5B in Stolen Bitcoins, Rises Again

Bitfinex hack of 2016 stolens Bitcoins worth $2.5B
According to blockchain analytics bot Whale Alerts, a portion of the dormant Bitcoins (BTC) stolen in the 2016 Bitfinex exchange breach has migrated from the hacker's accounts to an unknown wallet on Tuesday. The stolen Bitcoins were used in 20 transactions, which were highlighted. A total of 64,641.29 BTC was exchanged, valued at about $2.5 billion at the time of writing. More than half of the total amount obtained by the hackers, which is estimated to be over 120,000 BTC, has been recovered.

The largest transaction discovered was over 10,000 BTC, valued at over $383 million, while others were as small as 0.29 BTC. The wallet address that got the blacklisted BTC now has a total balance of 94,643.29 BTC, or almost $3.6 billion.

This Movement Might Be To Scare Investors Into Selling Their BTC

While it's impossible to say why the hackers are shifting the Bitcoins, some speculate that it's to scare investors into selling their Bitcoins. When hackers transferred 10,000 of their stolen BTC in 2021, Twitter user Alistair Milne speculated that the hackers were moving the Bitcoins to cause market panic while holding short positions because they couldn't cash out. According to the user, the hackers cannot sell, but they can move the coins to "manipulate the market."

With the assistance of US authorities, some of the stolen BTC was returned to the exchange in 2019. In the same year, police in Israel made hack-related arrests after tracking a $1.5 million stolen fund movement. A year later, Bitfinex offered up to $400 million to anyone who could provide information leading to the recovery of the stolen cryptocurrency. According to the exchange, the amount will be considered "costs of recovery."

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2016 Bitfinex Hack With $2.5B in Stolen Bitcoins, Rises Again
Meghna Das Chowdhury
Meghna is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media specializing in Print Journalism. She is currently working as a content writer for Agio Support Solutions Pvt. Ltd. She aims to provide quality content and strategy in the field of cryptocurrency and work with digital marketing platforms to deliver brand-specific strategies.

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