Hackers have transferred around $38.7 million out of $1.3 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) from wallets connected to the infamous 2016 hack of crypto exchange Bitfinex.
It has been reported 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, worth around $38.7 million, over 12 transactions.
⚠ 476.32 #BTC (5,147,316 USD) of stolen funds transferred from Bitfinex Hack 2016 to unknown wallet Tx: https://t.co/2kqzfoYIA1 — Whale Alert (@whale_alert) July 27, 2020
However, the largest individual movement was of 476.32 BTC, or approximately $5.2 million, while the smallest was 2.612703 BTC, or $28,849.
As per the report, the hackers responsible for the Bitfinex breach have moved only 1-2% of the funds they stole from the exchange in August 2016, as 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.
It has been analyzed that the potential impact of such a large number of coins dumped into the crypto market could be problematic.
The criminals behind the 2016 Bitfinex hack have so far only moved 1-2% of the 120,000 Bitcoin they stole https://t.co/ff7trltUWF — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) July 28, 2020
The price of Bitcoin was mostly unaffected when 50 BTC of the tokens in old addresses associated with Satoshi Nakamoto moved in May.
Likewise, the lack of movement may suggest that criminals are facing difficulties laundering digital assets as tighter regulations are enforced.
Thus, it has been reported in June that 736 BTC from previous transfers from wallets associated with the hack went to the Russian darknet marketplace Hydra, and some ended up back at Bitfinex.
Source: Cointelegraph | Image: Bitcoin UK