In 2016, Bitfinex, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, suffered a major security breach, with 119,756 Bitcoin (BTC) worth $71.8 million stolen. At today’s market price, this amount is equivalent to more than 3 billion. The hackers attempted to launder the stolen tokens by moving them multiple times.
Fast forward to 2022, the US Department of Homeland Security arrested two people believed to be behind the hack. The authorities managed to intercept and return part of the funds, including $312,219.71 in cash and 6.917 Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
Bitfinex’s Chief of Technology Officer Paolo Ardoino stated that they look forward to recovering as much of the stolen bitcoin as possible and redistributing it to holders of the tokens issued in response to the hack. These tokens, called Recovery Right Tokens (RTTs), which act as IOUs, could be exchanged for cash or iFinex capital stock in the future. There were a total of 30 million RRTs in circulation, and the crypto exchange has said that the funds it has recovered so far are not enough to meet all the redemptions.
