The National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Museum is a catalog of money.
It houses gold bars, 600,000 Confederate banknotes, and gold coins from the 14th century.
Now it also houses a MacBook, one thatonce contained the keys to $3.6 billion in stolen Bitcoin.
Heather ‘Razzlekhan’ Morgan in her music video for ‘Versace Beduoin.‘© YouTube screengrab.
Lichtenstein and Morgan areBitcoins Bonnie and Clyde.
In 2016, Lichtenstein hacked into the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex and stole almost 120,000 in Bitcoin.
At the time it was worth around $70 million.
The laptop that belonged to Chris Janczewski, former IRS-CI agent © Jaclyn Nash / National Museum of American History
Morgan had helped him launder it.
When they were arrested in 2022, the value was more than $3 billion.
It was the biggest financial seizure in DOJ history.
Janczewskis laptop was instrumental in bringing down the pair.
Proponents of cryptocurrency swear by its anonymity, but the Blockchain never forgets.
Thats exactly what Janczewski did.
Janczewski used this laptop to root through their files where he discovered the keys to the stolen Bitcoins.
For a brief period, the investigators laptop held the keys to a $3.6 billion fortune.
This is not the only piece of cryptocurrency ephemera the museum owns.
For Feingold, the laptop helps capture the moment when illusions about the anonymity granted by cryptocurrency shattered.
The U.S. Department of Treasury had custody of the laptop before handing it over to the Smithsonian.
Lichtenstein and Morganplead guiltyto the theft.
Lichtenstein wassentenced to five years in prison.
Netflix made a documentary about them.
News from the future, delivered to your present.
Justice Department Says It Will Pull Back on Prosecuting Crypto Fraud
What could go wrong?