In a direct address to the public, Ilya Lichtenstein, who pleaded guilty last year to charges related to the 2016 theft of approximately 120,000 Bitcoins from cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, issued a novel statement on Thursday denying alleged third-party involvement in the hack. His five minutes videosent to .

Lichtenstein stole 120,000 Bitcoins himself

Speaking to the camera, Lichtenstein said: “I planned and executed the Bitfinex robbery entirely on my own. And I take full responsibility for everything that happened.” He then disputed other speculations, stating: “Any allegations that my elderly and not very tech-savvy father was ever involved in any hacking activity are completely false and frankly absurd.”

The 2016 Bitfinex hack is one of the most significant security breaches in cryptocurrency history. At the time, the theft of 120,000 Bitcoins was valued at approximately $72 million, although the current market value of the coins is estimated at over $12.6 billion. Prosecutors previously noted that Ilya’s wife, Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan, became involved in the case only after the fact, pleading guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

In the recording, Lichtenstein maintained that Morgan’s role was not restricted to the hacking or orchestrating the theft itself: “While it is true that my wife admitted to laundering a petite portion of the funds, she was in no way involved in the hack itself. For years she didn’t even know about it.

Official statements and the settlement show that Liechtenstein cooperated with authorities to facilitate the return of stolen funds. He reiterated these efforts in the video: “For the past three years, I have worked challenging to settle and return all assets to the last Satoshi, in accordance with my settlement. And I will continue to do so throughout the forfeiture and restitution process, which is expected to generate more than $10 billion by the first quarter of next year.

Lichtenstein openly admitted his mistake: “I hacked Bitfinex. I stole and laundered thousands of Bitcoins. And I’m very sorry for everything. He expressed remorse and a desire to make amends, describing himself as having made “one bad, selfish decision after another” during the burglary and its aftermath. Emphasizing his sole responsibility, he stated: “No one else but me is responsible for the hack.”

He also indicated his plans for the future after serving his prison sentence: “When I get out of prison in about a year, I plan to devote myself to working in the cybersecurity industry.” Lichtenstein, maintaining a unique perspective resulting from his past illegal activities, believes that he can contribute to the defense of cybersecurity in the future: “No one understands how hackers think like someone who has been a hacker… I know the cyber threats we face, and I know , how to deal with them. stop them.”

Any claims, Lichtenstein noted, can be verified through publicly available court documents. He advised Netflix viewers to read the documents and draw their own informed conclusions: “You don’t have to take my word for it. All court documents presenting the facts of the case are publicly available. You can read them yourself and form your own opinion.

At the time of the report’s publication, neither Bitfinex nor Netflix representatives had publicly commented on Lichtenstein’s video.

At the time of publication, Bitcoin’s price was $102,371.

Featured image with X, chart from TradingView.com