LEO tokens: 264 bitcoins returned to Bitfinex and the impact of "net proceeds" on pledge destructi

U.S. government wallets transferred approximately 264.863 bitcoins to Coinbase, LEO token holders need to pay attention to repurchase details

On Tuesday, a U.S. government-controlled crypto-asset wallet transferred approximately 264.863 bitcoins to Coinbase, worth approximately $22.87 million. These bitcoins originated from assets stolen from cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in 2016 and were seized by U.S. authorities in 2022. This is not an insignificant footnote for LEO token holders: Bitfinex has committed in writing to use at least 80% of the remaining net proceeds from this return to purchase and destroy its own LEO tokens.

The market responded flatly to this. LEO is trading at $8.90, with only 0.4% volatility over the past seven days. There are specific reasons for this calm and have nothing to do with the return of Bitcoin itself. For anyone considering holding or buying the token in Germany, this is the core issue that really needs to be examined.

LEO token price is US$8.90: Overview of this week's data

As of Thursday night, the price of a LEO was US$8.90. It has risen 0.23% in the past 24 hours and 0.41% in the past seven days. The intraday trading range is between $8.88 and $8.98.

Throughout the week, the highest price was US$8.99 last Sunday, and the lowest price was US$8.86 the previous Thursday. As a result, the volatility for the entire trading week was just 13 cents, or just under 1.5%. By comparison, Solana fell 9.5% and Cardano fell 8.3% over the same period, while the broader market saw a pullback after a wave of forced liquidations.

LEO的这种脱钩现象既非巧合，也不是强势的表现。它源于该代币的交易方式，我们稍后会通过自有数据进行进一步分析。

264枚比特币转入Coinbase：10月6日发生了什么

据CryptoBriefing报道，周二的这次转账是迄今为止最大的一笔系列转账之一。早在四月，约有8.2枚比特币被转入Coinbase Prime的一个存款地址。相比之下，当前转移的264.863枚比特币规模大了许多倍。

法律框架自2025年起已确立。一家美国联邦法院裁定，被没收的比特币将以实物形式（即比特币本身，而非美元金额）归还给Bitfinex。理解此案的一个关键点在于：同一法院在2025年1月裁定，Bitfinex及其用户不符合《强制性受害者赔偿法》下的法律意义上的受害者资格。因此，这笔资金的归还是通过成为与被告达成和解协议一部分的自愿赔偿协议进行的。

为了说明规模：2016年的漏洞事件中，约有119,754枚比特币失踪。当局在2022年成功追回约94,636枚。周二转出的264.863枚比特币仅是计划总回流中的一小部分。目前尚未公布剩余批次的时间表。

优先扣除“恢复权代币”：“净”字决定了销毁总量

80%的承诺听起来像是一个清晰的计算，但它包含一个可能大幅改变金额的条件。被销毁的不是返还比特币的80%，而是剩余净收益的80%。首先扣除的是“恢复权代币”（Recovery Right Tokens，简称RRT）。

RRT是Bitfinex在2016年漏洞事件后向损失余额的用户发行的凭证。当时作为补偿发放，并在被盗资金重新出现时拥有追索权的要求。如今这一情况正在发生。只有在RRT被赎回且诉讼费用得到覆盖后，LEO回购的计算才会开始。

Bitfinex尚未披露这一扣除项的具体规模。因此，对于持有者来说，80%这个数字目前并未说明最终进入市场的金额，仅说明了已承诺的部分占目前尚未知的剩余部分的比例。

回购意味着销毁：Bitfinex在市场上收集的任何资金都将永久退出流通

除了来自黑客攻击回流的单次承诺外，LEO还有第二个机制在运行，自2019年5月以来一直持续运作。

代币销毁通过将代币发送到无访问密钥的地址来永久将其从流通中移除。此后无人能再移动这些代币。

母公司iFinex承诺将至少27%的合并月度总收入用于在公开市场上购买LEO，随后将其销毁。购买也可以在交易所外进行，明确包括用比特币直接交换LEO。第三项承诺涵盖来自Crypto Capital案件的回收款项，其中比例为净额的95%。

市值82亿美元，日均成交额188,533美元：我们的自有统计

持续的销毁进程可以从流通供应量中看出。在2019年5月的销售中，iFinex发行了10亿枚LEO。2026年10月8日，我们从CoinGecko获取的数据显示，流通供应量为919,857,851.9枚LEO。与发行量的差额约为8010万枚代币，即在七年多一点的时间里减少了约8%。

同一调查中的第二个数字更为重要。LEO在所有加密货币中排名第18位，市值为81.9亿美元。过去24小时的交易额为188,533美元。比率约为1:43,000：每日每1美元的成交额对应43,000美元的市值。

作为对比，比特币的市值约为1.6万亿美元，其单日交易量是其数十倍。而在LEO上，整个日成交额仅相当于约21,000枚代币的价值。在正常的交易日里，无法平仓较大的头寸，因为没有对手方承接。

这正是上周价格线平稳的原因。几乎不被交易的价格自然波动极小。这种稳定性是流动性稀薄的副作用，而非对代币估值的肯定。

Buying LEO in Germany: How to check access through the MiCA licensed exchange

LEO is Bitfinex's internal token, and transactions are basically conducted on the platform. For German investors, access issues are more important than price issues. With the MiCA transition period ending on July 1, 2026, crypto service providers that are not authorized by EU regulations will no longer be allowed to provide services to EU customers.

Verify three points directly with the provider before placing a purchase order. First, whether it can present MiCA authorization for German residents. Second, whether the currency pair you want to trade is already enabled on your account. Third, if the trading of a certain token stops, which withdrawal channels are still open.

It was shown in Germany in early October that lack of authorization is not a theoretical risk: After 15 months of review, BaFin refused to issue MiCAR authorization to bitcoin.de operators. For LEO, the venue issue is more serious than for widely listed coins, because there is almost no other place to go.

Custody and holding periods: Exchange accounts and owned wallets

LEO operates as tokens on Ethereum and on Bitfinex's owned network. Both variants can be extracted and self-managed. If the token is placed in an exchange account, you bear the custodian's risk, which was exactly what occurred on the same exchange in 2016. For self-hosting, the main difference between different devices is key management.

In terms of taxation, the one-year holding period stipulated in Article 23 of the German Income Tax Law continues to apply to privately held crypto assets. If you sell LEO at profit within one year of purchase, profits beyond the 1,000 euro annual exemption will be taxable. After one year, the proceeds are exempt from tax. A draft from the German Federal Ministry of Finance recommends that crypto assets acquired from 2027 be subject to a fixed tax rate and have no holding period, while the existing one-year holding period remains unchanged. None of these have been formally passed and cabinet decisions alone cannot become law.

In practice, this means: Record the date and price of each purchase. According to the draft, if the purchase price cannot be proved in the future, estimates will be used, and the result will be much more expensive than the actual bill. Tools that automatically track additional purchases and holding periods can reduce this workload.

Key levels for $8.86 and $10.61: Last week's range

Edge of the trading week serves as a reference point. On the downside, the weekly low is at $8.86 and below it is an integer mark of $8.50. On the upside, a weekly high of $8.99 limited the range, followed by the $9 threshold that LEO failed to break this week.

The historical high will appear on May 4, 2026 at US$10.61. At the current price, the token differs from it by about 16%. These data are observations rather than forecasts for the week that just ended; with average daily turnover of only US$188,533, individual large orders may still cause out-of-range, although fundamentals remain unchanged.

No specific repurchase date: Gaps in commitments

The commitment period is 18 months, counting from the date Bitfinex receives the recovered funds. This remains unknown. Tuesday's batch was transferred to Coinbase rather than the announced Bitfinex address, and the company did not explain whether this was considered a "receipt" in a promise.

The sequence of events in actual operation also remains open. According to the commitment, larger reflows will be apportioned over the entire 18 months, with smaller reflows faster. This staggering is designed to curb price jumps. For holders, this means that even if conditions are favorable, the return will reach the market in batches over several months rather than as a single buying impulse.

What is currently missing is a number. Bitfinex publishes repurchase and destruction through its dedicated reporting page; however, no specific figures have been given for the return from hacking attacks. As long as the scale of RRT redemption is unknown, it is impossible to calculate the total amount of destruction committed from public information.

Summary and Recommendations

LEO Destruction: In the absence of Bitfinex specific data, this is still a statement of intent. There are three specific steps in the next few weeks:

• Clarify access qualifications before trading: Verify with the provider whether it can serve German residents under the MiCA framework and whether LEO is enabled on your account. For a list of authorized platforms, see a comparison of regulated crypto exchanges.
• Match position size to turnover: With an average daily turnover of US$188,533, liquidity determines whether a position can be closed again. Differences in depth and fees among venues can be found in a comparison of the best crypto exchanges.
• Keep a record of purchases and track holding periods: As long as a one-year period applies to existing positions, the time and price of each entry should be archived. For a list of suitable tools see Tax Tools and Portfolio Tracker Comparison.

The return of stolen bitcoins in 2016 is the single biggest push for LEO imaginable and has already begun. This commitment will only become solid when Bitfinex announces the size of the RRT redemption and the start of the 18-month term. Previously, a commitment covering 80% faced a meager market with all-day turnover even lower than a single stock market trade.

(As of October 8, 2026. This article does not constitute investment advice. Price and fee structures are subject to change; please check terms with your provider before purchasing.)