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Ilya Lichtenstein, who pled guilty to money laundering charges tied to his role in the massive hack of crypto exchange Bitfinex, has apparently been released early from prison.<\/p>\n
In a Thursday evening post on X<\/a>, Lichtenstein said he was out early \u201cthanks to President Trump\u2019s First Step Act\u201d (a prison reform bill passed during Trump\u2019s first term).<\/p>\n \u201cI remain committed to making a positive impact in cybersecurity as soon as I can,\u201d Lichtenstein said. \u201cTo the supporters, thank you for everything. To the haters, I look forward to proving you wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n The Department of Justice arrested Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan<\/a> in 2022 and seized $3.6 billion worth of bitcoins that had been stolen from Bitfinex. The couple became infamous after their arrest and were featured in a Netflix documentary called \u201cBiggest Heist Ever.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Lichtenstein eventually admitted to his role in the hack and was sentenced to five years in prison<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear whether the Trump administration played a direct role in the release. An administration official told CNBC<\/a> that Lichtenstein \u201chas served significant time on his sentence and is currently on home confinement consistent with statute and Bureau of Prisons policies.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n