$39M of Bitcoin Stolen in 2016 Bitfinex Hack Is on the Move

Some of the 119,756 Bitcoin that was stolen from crypto exchange Bitfinex in 2016 has started moving again. 

According to a series of tweets posted by Whale Alert on July 27-28, wallet addresses known to be associated with one of the largest breaches ever of a crypto exchange moved 3503 Bitcoin (BTC) — worth roughly $38.7 million — over 12 transactions. 

The largest individual movement was of 476.32 BTC, or approximately $5.2 million, while the smallest was 2.612703 BTC, or $28,849.

Slowly moving billions in crypto

To date, the hackers responsible for the Bitfinex breach have moved only 1-2% of the funds they stole from the exchange in August 2016. The HODLing strategy appears to be paying off as the haul was only worth $72 million at the time. It’s now worth $1.3 billion.

The potential impact of such a large number of coins dumped into the crypto market could be problematic. However, the price of Bitcoin was mostly unaffected when 50 BTC of the tokens in old addresses associated with Satoshi Nakamoto moved in May. 

The lack of movement may suggest that criminals are facing difficulties laundering digital assets as tighter regulations are enforced. Cointelegraph reported in June that 736 BTC from previous transfers from wallets associated with the hack went to the Russian darknet marketplace Hydra — and some actually ended up back at Bitfinex.