Who wants Bitfinex hack's $3.6 bn in Bitcoin loot? Twitter frenzy over how to claim lost crypto
Who walks away with the $3.6 billion in Bitcoin that the U.S. recovered from the Bitfinex currency exchange hack has become the cryptosphere’s favorite guessing game. David Silver, a lawyer who specializes in financial and cryptocurrency-related fraud, said since the seizure was announced Tuesday he’s received dozens of calls from individuals saying they lost money in the 2016 online heist and they want to get their coins back. Twitter has been whipped into a frenzy as well, with posters asking how to claim lost crypto. Justice Department officials said they plan to establish a court process for victims to reclaim the stolen digital assets, which have since surged in value.
Figuring out whom the crypto belongs to may not be simple, however. Bitfinex considers that it’s made investors whole, and said in a statement yesterday that it will “follow appropriate legal processes to establish our rights to a return of the stolen Bitcoin.” If Bitfinex and users start off on a collision course, the legal battle would likely be protracted.
“The world has changed dramatically since 2016, and everyone is going to lay claim to this newfound bag of Bitcoins,” Silver said.
Bitfinex, a unit of British Virgin Islands registered iFinex Inc., declined comment.
At the heart of Bitfinex’s argument is a long-ago token distribution. After the attack in August 2016, when a hacker made away with more than 119,000 Bitcoin, Bitfinex allocated losses of more than 30% to all customer accounts. It then created and credited BFX tokens to customers at a ratio of one for every $1 lost. Within eight months, all holders had those tokens redeemed, or had exchanged them for iFinex capital stock. During that time, Bitcoin’s price had nearly doubled, according
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