IRS Agent's MacBook Pro That Traced and Seized 120,000 Bitcoin Stolen From Bitfinex in 2016 Is Now in the Collection of Washington, DC's World-Renowned Smithsonian

The laptop is the centerpiece of a criminal case that shows an evolving understanding of cryptocurrency

An Internal Revenue Service agent’s MacBook Pro that helped trace and seize 120,000 Bitcoin ( BTC ) stolen from the crypto exchange Bitfinex in 2016 will now be part of the collection at Washington, D.C.’s world-renowned Smithsonian.

“The laptop is the centerpiece of a criminal case that shows an evolving understanding of cryptocurrency,” explained Ellen Feingold, curator for the National Numismatic Collection (NNC), in a Nov. 18 article for Smithsonian Magazine.

The laptop belonged to former IRS Special Agent Chris Janczewski, who now heads global investigations at blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs. Janczewski helped discover the keys to the 120,000 Bitcoin stolen from Bitfinex by Ilya Lichtenstein, who was sentenced to five years in jail for the hack earlier this month.

Lichtenstein hacked Bitfinex while his wife Heather Morgan — also known by her rapper alter-ego “Razzlekhan” — later helped him launder the stolen Bitcoin. She was also sentenced earlier this month to 18 months in jail.

“This landmark case was significant not only for the amount seized, but also because the perpetrators could be apprehended,” Feingold added.

The Department of Justice said in 2022 that the Bitcoin haul, then valued at $3.6 billion, was the agency's “largest financial seizure ever.”

The idea of Janczewski's laptop being featured in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History came from Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui, who wrote to NNC to raise awareness and note the significance of the Bitfinex case.

The NNC documents how money has evolved from at least as far back as ancient Mesopotamia, with over 1.6 million items collected.

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