Ilya Lichtenstein, the Russian-American tech entrepreneur convicted of laundering Bitcoin stolen in the 2016 Bitfinex hack, has been released from U.S. federal prison earlier than scheduled under the First Step Act, a sentencing reform law signed by former President Donald Trump.
Lichtenstein confirmed his release in a social media post shortly after New Year’s Day, stating that the First Step Act enabled his early release. He said he plans to work in cybersecurity and thanked supporters who stood by him during his imprisonment.
U.S. authorities arrested Lichtenstein and his wife, Heather Morgan, in 2022 after tracing Bitcoin linked to the Bitfinex breach. Prosecutors accused the couple of conspiring to conceal and launder tens of thousands of Bitcoin stolen during the 2016 attack, which was valued in the billions of dollars at the time of seizure.
The case became one of the most high-profile cryptocurrency prosecutions in U.S. history. In November 2024, Lichtenstein was sentenced to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to money laundering conspiracy charges.
Morgan, who also cooperated with investigators, received an 18-month sentence and was released in October 2025 after serving approximately eight months, according to court records.
Lichtenstein’s reduced sentence was made possible under the First Step Act of 2018, which allows inmates to earn sentence reductions through participation in rehabilitation programs, educational courses, and cooperation with authorities. The law has continued to impact sentencing outcomes in financial and cryptocurrency-related cases.
