Hacker Ilya Lichtenstein, a dual citizen of Russia and the United States, sentenced to five years in prison for stealing 119,700 bitcoins from the Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in 2016, was released early.
At today's prices, this amount of Bitcoin is worth $10.6 billion.
Having served only 14 months, Ilya Lichtenstein was released thanks to the First Step Act, signed by Donald Trump during his first presidential term.
"Thanks to President Trump's First Step Act, I was released early from prison," Lichtenstein said Thursday on social media platform X. "I remain committed to making a positive contribution to cybersecurity as soon as possible." His prison term was reduced by the time spent in custody after his arrest in 2022, significantly shortening his sentence.
The First Step Act, dedicated to prison reform, was proposed and approved by lawmakers in 2018 with the aim of saving taxpayer dollars.
A representative of the Trump administration confirmed Lichtenstein's early release to CNBC, noting that he "served a significant portion of his sentence and is currently under home confinement in accordance with the law and Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) policy."
As a result of the Bitfinex hack in August 2016, the hacker stole 119,754 BTC, which at that time was worth approximately $71 million, and at current prices is over $10 billion.
Law enforcement recovered about 94,000 BTC, and in January 2025, the U.S. Attorney's Office filed a motion to return this BTC to Bitfinex. About 25,000 BTC are still considered missing.
Lichtenstein pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and hacking crypto assets. He reportedly managed to convert about 25,000 BTC into other cryptocurrencies and physical gold coins, most of which were returned by the U.S. government. Lichtenstein's wife, Heather Morgan, who pleaded guilty to aiding in the laundering of the stolen funds in the same case, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in February 2025 and announced her early release in October.
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