Billion-dollar Bitcoin hacker Ilya Lichtenstein released early, thanks Trump

The hacker behind the 2016 Bitfinex breach says he was freed early under Donald Trump’s First Step Act, just over a year after receiving a five-year sentence.

Ilya Lichtenstein, the hacker behind one of the largest Bitcoin thefts on record, has been released from prison just over a year after receiving a five-year sentence, thanks to a criminal justice reform law signed during former President Donald Trump’s first term.

“Thanks to President Trump's First Step Act, I have been released from prison early,” Lichtenstein said in a Friday post on X. “I remain committed to making a positive impact in cybersecurity as soon as I can,” he added.

The First Step Act, passed in 2018, expanded eligibility for sentence reductions through earned time credits and other rehabilitation measures. Lichtenstein was sentenced in November 2024 after pleading guilty to a money laundering conspiracy tied to the 2016 hack of Bitfinex, in which nearly 120,000 Bitcoin (BTC) were stolen.

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