Bitfinex Bitcoin Hacker Ilya Lichtenstein Credits Trump for Early Prison Release
January 2, 2026 – Ilya Lichtenstein, the Russian-American hacker behind one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in history, has announced his early release from prison, attributing it to the First Step Act, a bipartisan prison reform law signed by former President Donald Trump.
Lichtenstein, 38, was convicted for his role in hacking the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex and stealing nearly 120,000 bitcoin, valued today in the billions of dollars. In November 2024, he was sentenced to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a conspiracy to commit money laundering. However, late on Thursday night, Lichtenstein posted on his official X (formerly Twitter) account: “Thanks to President Trump’s First Step Act, I have been released from prison early.”
In his post, Lichtenstein expressed gratitude to his supporters and addressed his critics, saying, “I remain committed to making a positive impact in cybersecurity as soon as I can. To the supporters, thank you for everything. To the haters, I look forward to proving you wrong.”
A Trump administration official confirmed to CNBC on Friday that Lichtenstein “has served significant time on his sentence and is currently on home confinement consistent with statute and Bureau of Prisons policies.” Attorneys for Lichtenstein did not immediately respond to requests for comment about his early release.
Lichtenstein’s wife, Heather Morgan, who also pleaded guilty as part of the bitcoin laundering scheme, celebrated her husband’s release on her own X account. Morgan, a rapper known by her stage name "Razzlekhan" and dubbed “The Crocodile of Wall Street,” posted a photo of the couple smiling with the caption, “The best New Years present I could get was finally having my husband home after 4 years of being apart.”
Morgan herself was sentenced to 18 months in prison and began serving her sentence in early 2025. In October 2025, she posted a video announcing her own early release, also thanking former President Trump for shortening her sentence. In the clip, Morgan appeared in a bathtub with a hair towel, greeting her fans and saying, “I want to give a shout out to Papa Trump for making my 18-month sentence shorter.” Morgan’s manager did not immediately respond to inquiries.
Lichtenstein’s sentence factored in credit for time served since his arrest in 2022, following an extensive federal investigation. Despite the hacker’s early release, as of Friday morning, federal inmate locator records show Lichtenstein’s official release date scheduled for February 9, 2026. The First Step Act, signed into law by Trump in December 2018, was designed to reduce the federal prison population through reforms like a risk and needs assessment system that allows some inmates early release into home confinement. It remains unclear whether Trump or the White House were directly involved in the decisions regarding the early releases of Lichtenstein or Morgan. However, their announcements come amid a series of high-profile pardons and sentence commutations issued by Trump since returning to office, particularly involving individuals linked to cybercrime and the cryptocurrency industry.
Notably, a day after his 2025 inauguration, Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, founder of the infamous dark web marketplace Silk Road. In October 2025, Trump also pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the founder of major crypto exchange Binance, who had pleaded guilty to charges related to enabling money laundering on the platform.
The early release of Lichtenstein and Morgan adds to a growing list of controversial clemency actions tied to the cryptocurrency community under the current administration, raising questions about the intersection of politics, technology, and the justice system.
Reporting by Kevin Breuninger and Eamon Javers for CNBC.