The infamous hacker who orchestrated the massive 2016 exploit of the crypto exchange Bitfinex has reportedly turned into a government witness.

In 2022, Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan – known as the “crypto couple” – were arrested for conspiring to launder $4.5 billion worth of stolen crypto assets from the Bitfinex hack. They pled guilty to the crime last year.

Now, Lichtenstein has appeared as a cooperating US government witness in an ongoing money laundering trial centered around the crypto mixing service Bitcoin Fog, according to a new Bloomberg report.

Lichtenstein testified that he had access to Bitfinex’s systems for months and also exploited accounts at US crypto exchanges Coinbase and Kraken.

The hacker also reportedly testified that he employed Bitcoin Fog up to 10 times to launder his stolen proceeds, though he noted that he later switched to other mixers, according to the report.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested Roman Sterlingov, the alleged principal operator of Bitcoin Fog, back in 2021.

Lichtenstein, who also goes by the name “Dutch,” described himself on LinkedIn as a “technology entrepreneur, coder and investor.”

Morgan is a former Forbes columnist and chief executive of a copywriting firm. She’s also an idiosyncratic YouTube rapper known as “Razzlekhan.”

A feature film about the couple titled “Razzlekhan” is reportedly in development at Amazon MGM Studios, according to Deadline.

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Over the last few years, El Salvador has been making considerable efforts to become Latin America’s crypto hub. Today, two and a half years after adopting Bitcoin as a legal currency in the country, Bitfinex Securities announced the launch of Bitfinex Securities El Salvador S.A., the first platform to offer tokenized securities.

Launching The First Licensed Digital Asset Platform In El Salvador

On January 31, 2024, Bitfinex Securities officially became the first registered and licensed digital assets service provider to launch in El Salvador, and it’s now accepting customer applications. 

Last year, El Salvador approved the Digital Asset Securities Law, allowing Bitfinex Securities to apply for and receive approval for the first digital assets license under this regulatory framework.

This new law, as Juan Carlos Reyes, President of the National Commission of Digital Assets (NCDA), explained:

(…) carved out digital assets regulation from the traditional financial regulator and created the national commission of digital assets, that oversees the supervision and regulation of the ecosystem.

Additionally, the NCDA Chair recalled the positive experience with the firm and praised it for its ‘regulatory high standards’ and ‘world-class’ knowledge of compliance.

In the announcement, Bitfinex Securities highlighted the “substantial leap for financial innovation in Latin America” that the development of the tokenized securities industry in El Salvador suggests. The firm also announced it has established a pipeline of potential issuances that it expects to come to the market throughout the year.

Bitcoin ETF Approval Provides An Optimistic Outlook

“We are delighted to be able to announce the launch of Bitfinex Securities in El Salvador,” said Paolo Ardoino, Chief Technology Officer of Bitfinex Securities. He expressed his excitement to take part in the “forefront of this financial revolution,” stating:

This is not only an important market for Bitfinex given its adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender and the fostering of a Bitcoin-based economy, but it also gives El Salvador the opportunity to attract global investment flows, as issuers put out competitively priced securities offerings.

The launch of the Bitfinex Securities El Salvador platform follows the approval of the spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on January 10. The successful launch of Bitcoin-based ETFs in the US makes the firm expect a significant demand for exposure to other regulated digital asset services.

Jesse Knutson, Bitfinex Securities Head of Operation, highlighted in his statement the progress that El Salvador has made since 2021:

Following up on El Salvador’s groundbreaking policy work and legislative frameworks over the past two and a half years, the official launch of Bitfinex Securities El Salvador is another important step in the evolution of capital markets and an important global proof of concept.

Knutson also expressed optimism over the “recent surge of institutional investor interest in Bitcoin-focused financial products.”

Bitcoin is trading at $43,343.6 in the hourly chart. Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView.com

Disclaimer: The article is provided for educational purposes only. It does not represent the opinions of NewsBTC on whether to buy, sell or hold any investments and naturally investing carries risks. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use information provided on this website entirely at your own risk.

New on-chain data reveals that tens of billions of dollars worth of digital assets are currently sitting within the reserves of crypto exchange platforms Binance, Bitfinex and OKX.

Citing information from crypto data aggregator DeFi Llama, blockchain tracker Lookonchain says that Binance holds $66.91 billion worth of crypto assets while OKX and Bitfinex hold $12.41 billion and $11.74 billion, respectively.

“According to DeFi Llama,

Binance holds $66.917 billion assets: $20.578 billion BTC, $18.84 billion USDT [and] $8.085 billion wETH/ETH.

OKX holds $12.413 billion assets: $5.2 billion USDT, $4.827 billion BTC, [and]$1.95 billion wETH.

Bitfinex holds $11.746 billion assets: $7.69 billion BTC, $2.596 billion LEO [and] $0.77 billion wETH.”

The majority of the virtual currencies held by the three crypto exchanges include prominent tokens such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Wrapped Ethereum (wETH) and stablecoin USDT.

The figures come out as Binance continues to grapple with regulatory oversight. Earlier this month, the crypto exchange was hit with a $4.3 billion fine for failing to maintain adequate anti-money laundering protocols. Furthermore, its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, pleaded guilty to the charges and stepped down from his position.

Last week, new Binance chief executive Richard Teng said that the firm’s fundamentals remain “very strong” despite its regulatory woes.

Previously, data from market intelligence firm Nansen found that Binance saw an outflow of $17 million worth of Ethereum and $956 million worth of Bitcoin near the time it was hit with the fine. However, it also showed that Binance’s total holdings slightly increased during that time.

“Total holdings value has increased over the past 12 hours from $64.6 billion to $65.2 billion. This takes into account outflows and changes in prices over the past 12 hours.”

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