Bitfinex’s LEO Surges After US Court Order To Return 120,000 of Stolen Bitcoin To Exchange

Bitfinex-backed LEO token surged to an all-time high following a U.S. court ruling that the 120,000 Bitcoin stolen in the 2016 Bitfinex hack be returned to the crypto exchange through “in-kind restitution,” according to court documents shared by DB News.

LEO rallied to as high as $9.69 and was up 3.9% to $9.62 at the time of writing, according to Coingecko data. The token gas traded higher only once, briefly on Dec. 1, when it spiked to $9.79.

The stolen Bitcoin, originally worth $71 million, has appreciated to $11.87 billion. Authorities seized $3.6 billion in Bitcoin in 2022 after arresting Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan, who pleaded guilty to laundering billions in crypto.

According to blockchain intelligence firm Arkham Intelligence, the U.S. holds around $20 billion worth of Bitcoin, much of which was seized in various criminal investigations. This would mean that over half of the government’s Bitcoin would be given in restitution to Bitfinex.

In the court filing shared on X, officials stated: “The Court has the authority to order voluntary restitution pursuant to the defendants' plea agreements. Such voluntary restitution should include all of the assets seized from the Bitfinex Hack Wallet.”

Since their arrest, U.S. law enforcement has recovered around $10 billion in stolen funds. Bitfinex previously received $312,219 in cash and 6.9 Bitcoin Cash (BCH) as part of recovery efforts.