US Government Transfers $606K Worth of Seized Bitcoin

The US government has transferred a substantial amount of cryptocurrency, specifically 8.2 Bitcoin, worth approximately $606,000 to Coinbase Prime. The transfer is a notable development in the ongoing recovery process for assets seized in the high-profile 2016 Bitfinex hack.

The Bitcoin was part of a larger stash of cryptocurrencies recovered by federal agents in February 2022, following a successful decryption of files stored in cloud storage. These files revealed a spreadsheet containing over 2,000 private keys, allowing authorities to recover most of the stolen assets.

According to court documents, the seized Bitcoin must be returned to Bitfinex in kind, as per a federal court's ruling in early 2025. This decision was made after considering the specific circumstances surrounding the hack and the rights of the affected parties.