Ilya Lichtenstein, the hacker who was responsible for the attack on the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange in 2016, is receiving a request from the United States Prosecutor's Office for a jail term of five years.

While the system was being hacked, Lichtenstein took around 120,000 Bitcoin. It had a value of $71 million at the time, but this value has now increased to $6 billion.

The hacker entered a guilty plea to the crime in 2022, after he was apprehended together with his wife, Heather Morgan, who assisted him in concealing the stolen assets. The hacker's plea was accepted in 2022.

Despite the fact that Lichtenstein was the primary offender, the prosecution is suggesting that Morgan get a sentence that is 18 months lower than the original term.

According to a story that was published by Bloomberg, the prosecutors said that she received information about the breach in the year 2020 and that she has been collaborating with the authorities.

On the other hand, the prosecution contended in the document that was submitted to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia that Lichtenstein ought to get a more severe punishment than Morgan since he was the one who planned the hack.

It was said that if he were given additional time, it would help discourage other young hackers who believe that such acts are insignificant.

Following the theft, Lichtenstein moved the stolen Bitcoin to a wallet that was in his own possession. He then proceeded to launder 25,000 Bitcoin by using darknet marketplaces and unregulated virtual exchanges such as Bitcoin Fog, Helix, and ChipMixer.

According to the prosecution, he used the stolen money to purchase non-fungible tokens (NFTs), gold, and even gift cards to Walmart.