A U.S. government crypto wallet, which had lost $19.3 million in an apparent heist, saw most of its funds returned shortly after their disappearance. Blockchain analyst ZachXBT noted that the transactions appeared to follow patterns typical of stolen funds. The wallet was initially drained through a series of complex moves across various decentralized finance protocols and exchanges. After the funds were returned, the wallet still showed a deficit of about $1.2 million, indicating that not all funds had been recovered. The incident is tied to assets from the 2016 Bitfinex hack, which had previously been seized by the U.S. Department of Justice. The swift return of the funds adds an element of intrigue to the case, raising questions about the dynamics of stolen cryptocurrency on the blockchain. The hacker’s motives remain unclear, as both private exchanges and decentralized platforms played roles in the transactions. The recovery process also involved small test transfers, hinting at potential governmental maneuvers similar to those seen in other significant crypto transactions.

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