New York resident Ilya Lichtenstein revealed himself as the hacker who executed an multi-million-dollar exploit of crypto exchange Bitfinex in 2016 while pleading guilty to money laundering conspiracy charges at a hearing at the U.S. District Court in D.C. on Thursday.
Until now, the hacker’s identity has remained one of the most eusive facts of the case. CNBC first reported that Lichtenstein admitted to being the hacker.
Lichtenstein, 35, conspired to launder 119,754 Bitcoin, worth roughly $71 million at the time of the hack of the exchange in 2016, alongside his wife Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan, according to U.S. officials. Morgan’s own plea hearing was ongoing as of press time.
This is a developing story and will be updated.