A documentary has uncovered a major cryptocurrency case that had been sealed for years. In 2016, the Bitfinex exchange experienced the largest Bitcoin theft in history, when two suspects, Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan (the rapper Razzlekhan), were found to have remotely operated the Hong Kong-based exchange from New York, stealing a total of 119,754 BTC in one go. The case itself is already astonishing, but now there’s a twist: Lichtenstein was pardoned and released early, expressed gratitude on social media, and announced his intention to pursue a career in cybersecurity. This storyline is more surreal than a Hollywood blockbuster.

Even more shocking, the whistleblower in the documentary claims that Lichtenstein’s father has significant influence in the hacking community. Is it possible that the true mastermind behind the scenes is not this couple at all? Could everything be just a facade?

The most alarming aspect of this case is that a globalized exchange hub was vulnerable to remote intrusion. The stolen 119,754 Bitcoins were worth tens of millions of dollars at the time, and this theft directly shook the confidence of the entire crypto market. For exchanges, security defenses are always the top priority. Even today, cases of hacking attacks on exchanges continue to emerge, which is why more and more users are paying attention to platform security certifications and risk control systems.

From a technical perspective, this case exposed significant vulnerabilities in the infrastructure of exchanges at that time. While modern trading platforms have strengthened their defenses, human greed and technical fragility are always in a constant game of cat and mouse. Lichtenstein’s early release also serves as a reminder to the industry: in the world of crypto, nothing is absolutely secure.