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Co-founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e, Alexander Vinnik, disclosed that the funds of the platform’s clients were effectively divided into two segments following his arrest. The entrepreneur, who was released from a U.S. prison last year, addressed inquiries during the Blockchain Forum 2026.
The questions were posed by Sergey Mendeliev, CEO of Exved and author of the Telegram channel “Mendeleevshchina.”
Vinnik stated that he lost control over both segments of BTC-e’s assets after July 2017. The first segment consists of servers, bank accounts, and payment systems seized by U.S. authorities. The second segment includes funds stored in cold wallets, which Vinnik described as being “outside the perimeter seized by the FBI.”
The second segment of BTC-e’s funds is linked to the emergence of the WEX exchange in the fall of 2017. This new platform publicly claimed to be the successor of BTC-e and assured the return of all funds to affected clients. However, Vinnik mentioned that he only learned about WEX from his lawyer and has no association with that platform.
He characterized his responsibilities at BTC-e as managing the flow of fiat currencies and certain electronic payment systems. Thus, he did not have control over the cold wallets or seed phrases.
For those seeking to recover funds lost due to the collapse of BTC-e, Vinnik advised joining a collective lawsuit that has been under consideration in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia since last summer. Nearly two months ago, he had already shared a similar recommendation on his Telegram channel.
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Vinnik described his arrest and the subsequent legal actions taken by U.S. authorities as unjust during his speech at Blockchain Forum 2026. He recounted how he was accused of money laundering, conspiracy to launder money, illegal business operations, and illicit transactions.
“I was held responsible for the entire turnover of BTC-e—on the grounds that it involved U.S. dollars… To put it simply, I do not understand why they tried to convict me,” he stated.
According to him, during its operation, BTC-e adhered to all regulations required by banks, payment systems, and other financial institutions.
“We certainly had anonymity—but only to protect clients’ funds, so that no criminals could extort or rob… Imagine a scenario: a wife hits her husband with a frying pan, and instead of suing her, he sues the frying pan manufacturer. That was the situation in my case,” Vinnik explained.
From the stage of the forum, the co-founder of BTC-e expressed gratitude to the Russian authorities, who, with the involvement of U.S. President Donald Trump, exchanged him in February for Mark Vogel, an American citizen accused of drug trafficking.
BTC-e was once the largest Russian-speaking cryptocurrency exchange. Vinnik was apprehended on a beach in Greece and later extradited to the U.S. American authorities charged him with money laundering as part of an organized group, unauthorized access to information and its alteration, as well as extortion.
