Ilya Lichtenstein appears to have been released early after pleading guilty to money laundering charges related to the large-scale hack of the virtual currency exchange Bitfinex.
In a post on the X show Thursday night, Lichtenstein said he was able to leave prison early “thanks to President Trump's First Step Act, a prison reform bill passed during Trump's first term.”
“I remain committed to making a positive impact on cybersecurity as quickly as possible,” Lichtenstein said. “To all the supporters, thank you so much. To all the haters, I look forward to proving you wrong.”
The Justice Department arrested Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan in 2022 and seized $3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin stolen from Bitfinex. After their arrest, the couple gained notoriety and were featured in the Netflix documentary “The Greatest Heist in History.”
Lichtenstein eventually admitted his involvement in the hack and was sentenced to five years in prison.
It is unclear whether the Trump administration played a direct role in the release. An administration official told CNBC that Lichtenstein “has served a significant portion of his sentence and is currently on home confinement in accordance with the law and Bureau of Prisons policy.”
