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Vinnyk suggested that clients of BTC-e and WEX pursue claims against U.S. authorities for fund recovery., 2026/02/25 23:57:57
Alexander Vinnik, co-founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e, has advised clients who lost funds to seek compensation from U.S. authorities.
The Russian programmer and crypto entrepreneur stated on his Telegram channel that he frequently receives inquiries regarding the fate of the largest Russian-speaking crypto trading platform BTC-e, which ceased operations in 2017, and the funds lost by its clients.
The operational successor to the exchange is WEX, where “user balances were transferred” and which continued to manage them, according to Vinnik.
“The funds are not under the control of private individuals. All assets were seized by U.S. authorities as part of a criminal investigation,” the Telegram channel’s author noted.
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He encouraged anyone interested to join a collective lawsuit against U.S. authorities, filed in the District of Columbia. Vinnik stated that “this is the only avenue through which the issue can be resolved.”
In the comments to the post, investigative journalist Andrey Zakharov* reminded that the other co-founder of BTC-e and founder of WEX, Alexander Bilyuchenko, had testified in Russia, claiming that “the balances remained under his control.”
Another commenter, an anonymous user under the nickname Herry, remarked that WEX did not close due to “direct actions from the U.S.” but rather after halting withdrawals — “the collapse appeared to be an internal management conflict.”
Vinnik was arrested on a beach in Greece in 2017 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, and extortion. In February 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump exchanged Vinnik for American citizen Mark Fogel, who was accused of drug trafficking in Russia.
In December 2025, 1300 bitcoins were withdrawn from Bilyuchenko’s addresses by unknown individuals.
