A hacker returned approximately $19.3 million worth of funds to a U.S. government-controlled crypto wallet, which had been drained in an apparent attack. The wallet had previously lost a total of around $20.5 million, including Ethereum and the stablecoin USDC, after unauthorized transfers on Thursday. Blockchain analyst ZachXBT suggested that the transactions aligned with known cybercriminal behaviors, including interactions with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and instant exchanges. Following the return of the funds, about $1.2 million remained missing. The funds had originally been seized by the U.S. Department of Justice due to their connection with the notorious Bitfinex hack of 2016. The returned funds displayed unusual patterns, moving quickly to a new wallet after their return, raising further questions and speculation around the nature of this event.

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