Hacker returns millions in cryptocurrencies stolen from the US, but is left with a ‘souvenir’ worth R$4 million

Last Thursday (24), a cryptocurrency wallet controlled by the United States government started experiencing suspicious movementsworth more than $20 million, siphoned off in an exploit that surprised security analysts.

However, most of these belongings were returned yesterday morningand leaves a trail of mystery and unanswered questions. According to Arkham Intelligence, which monitors transactions on the chain, the incident generated alarm in the blockchain ecosystem.

Blockchain detective ZackXBT described the move as “nefarious”raising even more suspicions about what could have caused such an event.

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Hacker returns $20 million in stolen US cryptocurrencies and keeps “souvenir”

Hacker kept about $700,000 out of reach of authoritiesby sending this money to exchanges such as HitBTC, Switchain and N Exchange.

It was one “tip for the service provided”as said by some users on the networks, who were quick to suggest that the attacker could have even sent a tongue-in-cheek note saying: “I’ll keep the change, thanks!”

The unusual situation entails assets originally seized by the Department of Justice in 2022after the infamous Bitfinex hack in 2016, when 120,000 BTC was emptied in a series of 2,000 transactions.

Since then, the value of these bitcoins has increased from $72 million to $3.6 billion, making the incident a real drama in the crypto universe.

After the return of the assets, the authorities quickly transferred the money to other walletswith carefully executed moves: first a small test transaction in ETH, followed by a larger transfer of $6.1 million.

Later, the rest of the money was transferred, showing the government’s efforts to ensure the attacker’s “generosity” was not reversed.

“Better returns”

Behind the scenes there is discussion about the reason for returning money remains. Some speculate that the hacker is a “crisis of conscience” when he realized the hacked wallet belonged to the government, he imagined scenes of federal agents knocking on his door.

Others believe he is righteous ‘borrowed’ the money to experience the taste of a millionaire for one night – only to realize later that the US government may not appreciate jokes about public money.

Anyway, the episode was fun for the crypto community, always willing to make fun of even the most tense situations!

Despite the return of much of the money, US authorities still have to chase down the $700,000 the hacker chased.

Source: Live Coins

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