{"id":173994,"date":"2024-10-25T14:00:24","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T12:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.islabit.com\/en\/?p=173994"},"modified":"2024-10-25T15:10:03","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T13:10:03","slug":"hacking-suspected-over-us-government-transfer-of-20-million-in-crypto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.islabit.com\/en\/173994\/hacking-suspected-over-us-government-transfer-of-20-million-in-crypto.html","title":{"rendered":"Hacking suspected over US government transfer of $20 million in crypto"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A transfer of $20 million worth of crypto has been detected from an account under the control of the US government to a new wallet, which has caused certain suspicions of a possible hack and, consequently, theft and money laundering. In addition, it has called into question the security of the funds in the hands of the authorities.<\/p>\n

Source of Funds: Bitfinex Wallet Hack<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To fully understand the facts, it is necessary to go back to 2016, when the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange was the victim of a hack where hackers managed to steal around 120K bitcoins (BTC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, the 119,754 BTC stolen were worth $71.8 million. Today, with the cost of BTC<\/a> at $68,000, the stolen amount is worth about $8.15 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an effort to mitigate the effects of the attack, the US government managed to recover a sizable portion of the stolen BTC, placing it in a wallet known as the Bitfinex Hack Wallet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Years later, in February 2022, authorities arrested the hack suspects: Ilya Lichtenstein<\/a> and his wife Heather Morgan. Both were charged and eventually pleaded guilty to money laundering and fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lichtenstein, cooperating with authorities in other investigations, received a relatively short sentence of five years in prison, while Morgan, also known for her artistic career as the rapper “Razzlekhan,” was sentenced<\/a> to 18 months in prison, a sentence she has already served.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suspicious transactions and crypto tracking<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Knowing this, Arkham Intelligence, a company specializing in blockchain security, detected the cryptocurrency transfer and alerted its community on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\ud835\udde8\ud835\udde3\ud835\uddd7\ud835\uddd4\ud835\udde7\ud835\uddd8: \ud835\udde8\ud835\udde6 \ud835\uddda\ud835\uddfc\ud835\ude03\ud835\uddf2\ud835\uddff\ud835\uddfb\ud835\uddfa\ud835\uddf2\ud835\uddfb\ud835\ude01 \ud835\uddf9\ud835\uddf6\ud835\uddfb\ud835\uddf8\ud835\uddf2\ud835\uddf1 \ud835\uddee\ud835\uddf1\ud835\uddf1\ud835\uddff\ud835\uddf2\ud835\ude00\ud835\ude00 \ud835\uddee\ud835\uddfd\ud835\uddfd\ud835\uddf2\ud835\uddee\ud835\uddff\ud835\ude00 \ud835\ude01\ud835\uddfc \ud835\uddf5\ud835\uddee\ud835\ude03\ud835\uddf2 \ud835\uddef\ud835\uddf2\ud835\uddf2\ud835\uddfb \ud835\uddf0\ud835\uddfc\ud835\uddfa\ud835\uddfd\ud835\uddff\ud835\uddfc\ud835\uddfa\ud835\uddf6\ud835\ude00\ud835\uddf2\ud835\uddf1 \ud835\uddf3\ud835\uddfc\ud835\uddff $\ud835\udfee\ud835\udfec\ud835\udde0.

$20M in USDC, USDT, aUSDC and ETH has been suspiciously moved from a USG-linked address 0xc9E6E51C7dA9FF1198fdC5b3369EfeDA9b19C34c to\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/UXn1atE1Wx<\/a><\/p>— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) October 24, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>