Cyber-thieves from the Bitfinex hack of four years ago continue to cash out, this time transferring the equivalent of $4.1 million in bitcoin to an unknown wallet address.
Crypto tracking tool Whale Alert reports that hackers moved 416 bitcoin (BTC) on June 11. The funds, valued at $4.1 million at the time of the transaction, were sent in 20 separate transactions, each bearing between 15 and 33 BTC.
This is perhaps the biggest pay day yet for the hackers. When the stolen money first moved in June and August 2019, about 170 BTC and 300 BTC worth around $2.3 million and $2.7 million at the time, respectively, flowed.
More recently, the thieves last moved $800,000 or 77.64 bitcoin on June 2. Another transfer of 28.4 BTC valued at $255,000 was executed on May 22. The coins are likely sold to unsuspecting buyers off the market.
Ever carried out in small quantities to provide a false sense of security, the transactions are typically timed to coincide with every increase in the price of bitcoin. BTC spiked sharply on Wednesday to just under $10,000, but the benchmark cryptocurrency once again faced strong resistance at that key level.
The digital asset has since slumped nearly 6% to $9,331 over the last 24 hours, according to data from markets.bitcoin.com. Bitcoin has repeatedly struggled to scale past the $10,000 barrier since the May 11 supply cut event, also known as halving.
The point is regarded as key towards unlocking the long-anticipated bull run, something that has tended to come with every previous halving.
All the three transfers by the Bitfinex hackers over the past three weeks happened almost simultaneously with the BTC price threatening a rise beyond $10,000.
Hackers have chipped away at their multi-million-dollar stash since making off with 120,000 BTC from Hong Kong-based crypto exchange Bitfinex in 2016. Valued at $72 million at the time, that stash of bitcoin is worth over $1.1 billion at current prices.
What do you think about the Bitfinex hackers’ moves? Let us know in the comments section below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons