Cyber attackers hacked Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange in August 2016, and managed to steal Bitcoin 120,900. Back then, the digital treasure was worth roughly $72 million; however, with the appreciation in the value of BTC, the current market value of the stolen Bitfinex funds is approximately $1.4 billion.
To date, the orchestrators of the billion-dollar heist have never been identified. The hack alone triggered the price of Bitcoin to depreciate by a massive 20 percent, from about $600 to nearly $400.
⚠ 5.648296 #BTC (69,728 USD) of stolen funds transferred from Bitfinex Hack 2016 to unknown wallet
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) August 17, 2020
Once again, the hackers involved in the heist have moved the stolen Bitfinex funds. According to Whale Alert, the Bitfinex attackers have transferred 473.3 BTC, valued at $5.7 million in today’s market into an anonymous wallet. The Bitcoin was shared into various wallets, but the major stake, 467 BTC worth $5.6 million is now contained in a single wallet.
⚠ 467.67 #BTC (5,773,379 USD) of stolen funds transferred from Bitfinex Hack 2016 to unknown wallet
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) August 17, 2020
Following the attack, Bitfinex reduced the balances of all its clients by 36% and replaced them with BFX tokens. The tokens were redeemable for the shares of iFinex, the mother company of Bitfinex. Since the hack, the price of Bitcoin has increased by a massive percentage. Perhaps the hackers got rid of most of the stolen Bitfinex funds, or maybe they kept on waiting for a price hike to sell at a higher profit.
Stolen Bitfinex funds have been moved severally
In either case, this is not the first time a stolen bitcoin has been transferred to the attackers. Back in May, they moved a BTC of 28.3 worth $250,000. The following month, the hacker transferred BTC for $4 million to an anonymous wallet. Last year, the attackers moved the stolen Bitfinex fund on two occasions; in June, 185 BTC valued at $2 million then, and in August, 300 BTC valued at $2.7 million moved to unknown wallets. The two Bitfinex hacks are one of the most damaging bitcoin hacks and scams of all time. The two Bitfinex hacks are one of the most damaging Bitcoin hack and scam of all time. Generally, hackers move the fund to cash out further when there is a spike in the price of stolen coins.
