It is the largest financial seizure in the more than 150-year history of the US Department of Justice: no less than 3.2 billion euros in previously hacked bitcoins have been recovered. Simultaneously with this seizure, tech entrepreneur Ilya Lichtenstein (34) and his wife Heather Morgan (31, bitcoin columnist and self-proclaimed rapper) were arrested. According to the Justice Department, they had the missing bitcoins in their possession. Recovering is quite a feat given the semi-anonymous nature of the crypto coins. If you want to make money with bitcoin trading, check bitcoin platforms such as Immediate Edge app.
It all started in 2016 when hackers looted 119,756 bitcoin during a major break-in at bitcoin exchange Bitfinex in Hong Kong. That was the second largest bitcoin heist in the digital currency’s seven-year history. Two years earlier, the Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange MtGox had already been hacked, with the conversion of more than 700 million euros being stolen. With a value of 57 million euros, the Bitfinex hack was a lot smaller, but had a major impact: after the hack became known, the bitcoin price fell by almost a quarter. After that, more attention was paid to the security of crypto coins. For example, by not storing the security keys online at some exchange, but physically on your own computer or USB stick.
Bitcoin Bonnie And Clyde
Whatever changed: in the six years since the hack, the value of the world’s most famous crypto currency has exploded. Justice has not been able to find all of this: 25,000 bitcoins are missing. What exactly the criminal couple did to obtain the bitcoins is still unclear, but the ministry does provide a few details.
It is not clear whether this modern-day Bonnie and Clyde themselves were responsible for the hack. In any case, it is clear that after the hack they got access to the digital coins, after which they have been busy covering up the origin through a complicated money laundering process in the following years. For example, the bitcoins ended up on accounts of AlphaBay, a popular marketplace on the dark web where, among other things, drugs were traded. This market was closed down by the authorities in 2017.Ultimately; Justice was able to trace the hacked bitcoins back to the digital wallets of Lichtenstein and his wife via those AlphaBay accounts and a labyrinth of transactions.
The duo faces a custodial sentence of up to 25 years. They would have spent only a small part of the bitcoins, including on gold. Furthermore, there are hundreds of millions of bitcoins that have not been recovered and that Lichtenstein and Morgan still have at their disposal. Justice wants to see how the recovered bitcoins transferred to its real holder. They have been in uncertainty for six years, but are now likely to see a nice return on their previous investment.
Couple Hacks Together More Than 3 Billion In Bitcoins
It is the largest financial seizure in the 150-year history of the US Department of Justice: the no less than 3.2 billion euros in previously hacked bitcoins that have been recovered. Tech industrialist Ilya Lichtenstein and wife Heather Morgan who is a bitcoin columnist and rapper have been arrested. According to the Justice Department, they had the missing bitcoins in their possession. The couple was sentenced to be in jail for 25 year.
Missing Game Creator Wanted
Game computer maker Atari enlists the help of gamers to track down the maker of a game from the 1990s. A prototype of the game Aquaventure was found at a flea market in Florida at the time and distributed to enthusiasts. Atari wants to republish the game, but there is no trace of the original maker. In Aquaventure, players dive to the bottom of a cave to find treasure before they run out of oxygen.
The Older, The More Expensive Is Tinder
Dating app Tinder is age discrimination. This is apparent from research by 528 mystery shoppers in six countries, including the Netherlands. They registered for Tinder Plus, the paid version of the app, and found that older Tinderers pay more than young ones. The difference between the minimum (EUR 3.77) and the maximum (EUR 21.99) rate is the largest in the Netherlands, according to the Consumers’ Association. Tinder has promised to stop doing that.
