Ilya Lichtenstein, Bitfinex Hacker, Granted Early Release

Ilya Lichtenstein, who pleaded guilty to roles in the 2016 Bitfinex hack that resulted in the theft of nearly 120,000 BTC, has been granted early release from a five-year federal sentence and moved to home confinement. Convicted in 2024 on counts including conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud, Lichtenstein served about 14 months before being released under provisions of the First Step Act — the 2018 U.S. criminal justice reform law that allows certain inmates to earn reduced time or transfer to home confinement. His wife, Heather Morgan (aka Razzlekhan), who pleaded guilty to laundering stolen funds and received an 18-month sentence, was also released early in October and publicly credited the same law. Prosecutors and authorities continue to regard the case as notable because it involved one of the largest historic cryptocurrency thefts and extensive seizure and recovery operations. For traders, the development is primarily a legal and reputational update tied to a past major exchange hack rather than a direct market-moving event; it is unlikely to materially affect bitcoin (BTC) price dynamics in the short term but remains relevant to custodial-security and regulatory narratives around crypto theft and recovery.