Edward Snowden Raises Doubts Over Whether The Feds Are Telling The Whole Story On $4.5B Confiscated Bitcoin

Former CIA agent and whistleblower Edward Snowden has reacted to the arrest of two persons by the U.S. Department of Justice over an alleged conspiracy to launder $4.5 billion in stolen Bitcoin BTC/USD linked to the 2016 hack of cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex.

What Happened: Snowden said on Twitter the DOJ seemed to be alleging that one of the arrested persons — a man named Ilya Lichtenstein — was the same person who had previously warned people on social media about the threat of hacks in the cryptocurrency space.

Snowden also noted tongue-in-cheek that the Cloud is a place “trivially accessible” to the U.S. government.

Ed, are you saying that the US Government isn't telling the whole story?!?? I'm shocked. Shocked I say!

— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) February 9, 2022

See Also: How To Buy Bitcoin (BTC)

Why It Matters: Lichtenstein’s Twitter profile says he is a Web 3.0 developer and serial entrepreneur.

A tweet by the Fintwit investor community noted that Lichtenstein is a tech entrepreneur and alumnus of the Silicon Valley accelerator program Y Combinator, while his wife Heather Morgan — who was also arrested — is a Forbes columnist.

Ilya Lichtenstein, a tech entrepreneur and Y combinator alum.

Heather Morgan, a Forbes columnist.

Today they were arrested for trying to launder billions in stolen crypto. They face up to 20 years in prison. pic.twitter.com/iUNRJDfVfL

— Fintwit (@fintwit_news) February 8, 2022

Snowden — a cryptocurrency enthusiast — revealed in November last year that he used Bitcoin to aid the process of leaking classified government documents in 2013.

The prominent privacy campaigner had also criticized Apple Inc.’s AAPL controversial plan to scan users’ iPhones for child sexual abuse material (CSAM), saying it marked the dawn of a “dark future.”

Price Action: Bitcoin is down 2.4% during the past 24 hours, trading at $43,294.42 at press time.

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Photo: Courtesy of Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia