US-based hacker Ilya Lichtenstein has been sentenced to a five-year term in jail after entering a guilty plea last year over alleged Bitcoin heist worth billions.
The sentencing and the alleged crime come at a time when the entire sector has been grappling with issues of scams, money laundering, hacks, and many other illicit activities.
Ilya Lichtenstein Faces Jail Time For One Of The Biggest Bitcoin Scams
BBC has termed this heist as one of the largest Bitcoin thefts ever, which has resulted in the hacker receiving a five-year prison sentence in the United States.
In the case concerning the 2016 hack of the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange and the theft of about 120,000 Bitcoins, Ilya Lichtenstein entered a guilty plea last year.
Heather Morgan, his wife, helped him launder the stolen cryptocurrency by promoting her hip-hop music under the nickname Razzlekhan.
The value of the bitcoin had increased to over $4.5 billion by the time they were apprehended, from about $70 million (£55.3 million) at the time of the crime. They would be more than twice as valuable at today’s rates.
Also read: Ronin Network Under Investigation After $9.33M Suspected Hack
Crypto Sector Faces Dilemma As Hacks and Scams See Rise
At present, the crypto sector has been grappling with numerous scams, hacks, and illicit activities, making many investors wonder about the safety and security of their assets.
Out of the majority of hacks, North Korean hackers have taken the lead in managing to conduct most of the hacks in the sector. As Unocrypto reported earlier, new methods are being used by North hackers to commit cryptocurrency scams.
Phishing and virus schemes have now been added to the extensive list of methods by which hackers in the DPRK have been stealing cryptocurrency.
Also read: Indian Crypto Exchange WazirX Hacked, $234.9M Funds Compromised
Additionally, a new trend that has been seen in the industry is the hacking of X accounts of famous influencers to promote memecoins or altcoins in the sector. Just earlier in the trading day, following a string of sporadic tweets that alarmed investors, Dogwifhat’s official account was probably compromised.
In the same trend, as seen by the hackers’ attempt to advertise a phony memecoin named $WIZ, prominent social media profiles continue to be the focus of crypto-related scams.
Additionally, the Arbitrum (ARB) and Avalanche (AVAX) networks of cryptocurrencies valued at over $4.8 million were stolen due to a significant security compromise that occurred at DeltaPrime.