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Bitfinex hacker Ilya Lichtenstein credits Trump
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Bitfinex hacker Ilya Lichtenstein credits Trump
Bitfinex hacker Ilya Lichtenstein credits Trump’s First Step Act for early prison release
Bitfinex hacker Ilya Lichtenstein credits Trump’s First Step Act for early prison release
The U.S. hacker pleaded guilty to stealing and laundering nearly 120,000 bitcoin from cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in 2016.
By Olivier Acuna|Edited by Nikhilesh De
Jan 2, 2026, 6:50 p.m.
Ilya Lichtenstein thanks Trump for his early release. (Alexandria Sheriff's Office modified by CoinDesk)
What to know:
- Ilya Lichtenstein, sentenced to five years for stealing and laundering nearly 120,000 bitcoin, was released after serving 14 months due to the First Step Act.
- Lichtenstein expressed gratitude for his early release and reiterated his commitment to cybersecurity, while facing mixed reactions online.
- The Bitfinex hack in 2016 resulted in the theft of 119,754 BTC, with authorities recovering about 94,000 BTC and 25,000 BTC still missing.
In this article
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Ilya Lichtenstein, who was sentenced to five years in prison in November 2024 after pleading guilty to charges tied to the 2016 Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange hack, was released from prison after just 14 months behind bars.
“Thanks to President [Donald] Trump's First Step Act, I have been released from prison early,” Lichtenstein said on X on Thursday. “I remain committed to making a positive impact in cybersecurity as soon as I can.”
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Trump signed the First Step Act, a prison and sentencing reform bill proposed and approved by legislators in 2018, purportedly aimed at saving taxpayers money.
Lichtenstein thanked his supporters and criticized his “haters,” writing, “I look forward to proving you wrong,” while reiterating that he “remains committed to making a positive impact in cybersecurity.”
While some congratulated Lichtenstein on X, others were less forgiving. An onchain investigator who goes by Specter on X posted a meme saying “crime is legal”, while CB32 asked “how much did you pay?" And Cryptoenthusiast asked, "Where's the 120,000 stolen from Bitfinex?”
Lichtenstein and his wife, rapper Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan, were arrested in February 2022. Morgan received an 18-month sentence and was released in October after serving roughly eight months.
The Bitfinex hack in August 2016 resulted in the theft of 119,754 BTC, worth approximately $71 million at the time, but more than $10 billion at current prices. Authorities recovered about 94,000 BTC, and in January 2025, U.S. prosecutors filed a motion for the recovered BTC to be returned to Bitfinex.
Lichtenstein pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy charge and admitted to the hack of crypto assets. He also claimed his wife had nothing to do with the crime. He managed to convert about 25,000 BTC into other cryptocurrencies and into physical gold coins, the majority of which the U.S. government recovered, according to a TRM report.
Lichtenstein’s release comes as President Trump’s use of executive clemency in crypto-related cases has drawn criticism, though Lichtenstein himself was not pardoned. Between January and October, Trump pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, Arthur Hayes and three other BitMex exchange cofounders convicted of Bank Secrecy Act violations, and Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who had pleaded guilty to enabling money laundering at the world’s largest exchange.
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