Smithsonian to display laptop tracking $3.6B Bitcoin heist

The Smithsonian Institution will showcase a MacBook Pro used by former IRS Special Agent Chris Janczewski to trace and seize 120,000 stolen Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) from the 2016 Bitfinex hack.

The laptop, now part of Washington, DC’s National Museum of American History, represents a milestone in the intersection of technology and criminal investigation.

Ellen Feingold, curator for the National Numismatic Collection (NNC), highlighted the importance of the device in an article for Smithsonian Magazine, noting it “shows an evolving understanding of cryptocurrency.”

The laptop was pivotal in identifying hacker Ilya Lichtenstein, who, alongside his wife, Heather Morgan (known by her rap alias “Razzlekhan”), laundered the stolen Bitcoin.

Earlier this month, Lichtenstein received a five-year prison sentence, while Morgan was sentenced to 18 months.

Janczewski, who now leads global investigations at TRM Labs, utilised the blockchain as a “digital crime scene,” enabling him to locate the suspects, conduct home searches, and seize their digital records onto his laptop.

The Department of Justice called the 2022 seizure of the Bitcoin haul, valued at $3.6 billion at the time, its “largest financial seizure ever.”

Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui proposed featuring Janczewski’s laptop in the museum to emphasise the significance of the Bitfinex case.

The NNC has documented the history of money from ancient Mesopotamia to modern times, boasting a collection of over 1.6 million items.

However, Feingold acknowledged that acquiring physical items to represent Bitcoin's digital evolution has been challenging.

The collection includes a Bitcoin magazine, two physical Bitcoin tokens with private key holograms, and 3D-printed Bitcoin jewelry.

Janczewski’s laptop will be part of “The Value of Money” exhibit, set to reopen in late 2024, underscoring Bitcoin's role as an alternative during periods of diminished trust in traditional financial institutions following the 2008 crisis.

At the time of reporting, the Bitcoin (BTC) price was $92,126.37.