The value of UNUS SED LEO soared more than 60% overnight Tuesday to hit a new all-time high of $8.14.
UNUS SED LEO (LEO), which is a utility token in the iFinex ecosystem, skyrocketed to the new ATH of $8.14 overnight Tuesday.
The upsurge followed news that the US Justice Department (DOJ) had seized over 94,000 Bitcoin (BTC) stolen from Bitfinex in August 2016.
Chart showing LEO-USD price. Source: TradingView
Two arrested, $3.6 billion worth of BTC recovered
According to the DOJ, a man and his wife were arrested in connection to the hack and conspiracy to launder the funds, which were allegedly part of the total of 119,754 BTC stolen from the exchange.
The value of the stolen cryptocurrency was around $3.6 billion at the time US law enforcement agents took control of the private keys to the wallet said to hold the 94,000 BTC.
Bitfinex issued the LEO token in May 2019, providing a utility token for the cryptocurrency exchange's users and within its broader ecosystem.
The platform pledged to use 80% of any recoveries of the stolen funds to buy back and burn LEO, thus potentially boosting the token's value by removing a significant portion of total supply from circulation.
After the DOJ news, Bitfinex released a statement affirming the pledge and revealing its role in the recovery of the $3.6 billion BTC stash. The exchange hopes to receive Bitcoin from the US government, stating in a statement that it has a “legal right” to pursue that end.
Commenting on the seizure, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz said bullish for crypto and good for crypto security companies.
The Bitfinex hack recovery is actually medium term bullish for crypto. The bad guys lost their coins. It’s why 3 letter agencies are learning to like $BTC. It’s a good day for the crypto security companies.
— Mike Novogratz (@novogratz) February 8, 2022
It remains to be seen what the US government does with the recovered coins.
LEO is trading about 45% on Wednesday morning, having retreated slightly after massive buying pressure. The LEO/USD pair is changing hands around $7.23.
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