Israel has extradited an Israeli-Russian national to the United States to face charges over the alleged theft of roughly $2.8 million from crypto bridge Nomad, Israel's State Attorney's Office announced on Thursday, according to a report in The Jerusalem Post.

Alexander Block, formerly known as Alexander Gurevich, was transferred to U.S. authorities early Thursday after unsuccessful appeals in Israel. He was arrested at Ben Gurion Airport in May 2025 as he prepared to fly to Russia, shortly after changing his surname and obtaining a passport in his new name.

Prosecutors allege that Block's exploit exposed a flaw that other users then used to drain more than $186 million from a Nomad-controlled wallet. Israel's Supreme Court rejected his appeal, ruling that exploiting a programming flaw can constitute unlawful computer intrusion even where the software permitted it.

Indictment and extradition request

A federal grand jury in the Northern District of California indicted Block in August 2023 on four counts of computer fraud, one count of transporting stolen property, and three counts of money laundering, according to Israel's Supreme Court judgment in the case. The U.S. requested his extradition in December 2024.

According to the U.S. extradition request, as set out in the judgment, a June 2022 software update left a flaw in Nomad's smart contracts that allowed users to receive tokens on one blockchain without locking up the equivalent assets on another. Bridges hold pooled user assets to back token transfers between chains, so a flaw in that locking step — once visible on-chain — put an entire pool of user funds at risk. Block, operating under the username "Bitlik," allegedly made six test transfers before executing four main transfers around August 1, 2022, receiving tokens worth more than $2.8 million. He then allegedly moved the tokens through several wallets and converted them into other cryptocurrencies to conceal their origin.

His actions exposed the flaw to other Nomad users, who drained a Nomad-controlled wallet holding more than $186 million in user funds, the request alleges. A few days later, Block returned some of the tokens and contacted a senior Nomad official on Telegram, offering to return the rest in exchange for payment for finding the flaw. He later cut off contact, and Nomad turned to U.S. law enforcement.

The Supreme Court ruling

The Jerusalem District Court approved Block's extradition in July 2025. On appeal, he argued that the transactions relied on functions available within Nomad's automated system, and that the public record of blockchain transfers undermined the money laundering allegations.

The Supreme Court rejected both arguments, holding that exploiting a programming flaw could constitute unlawful computer intrusion even where the software technically permitted the action, The Jerusalem Post reported. The ruling means technical permissiveness is not, on its own, a defense to intrusion charges — a question inherent in blockchain exploits, where systems execute automatically and their transaction records are public. It also found that publicly visible transactions do not necessarily identify the people behind wallets or rule out efforts to conceal where funds came from.

Supreme Court President Isaac Amit later rejected Block's request for a further hearing, according to the State Attorney's Office.

Background on the Nomad exploit

The August 2022 exploit drained Nomad of nearly all its funds. Because copying the original attack required little technical knowledge, Paradigm researcher Sam Sun likened what followed to "a frenzied free-for-all," Decrypt reported at the time.

In December 2025, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a settlement with Illusory Systems, Nomad's operator, saying the bridge lost $186 million after hackers exploited a poorly tested software update. The settlement would require the company to return recovered funds to users who have not been reimbursed. Nomad recovered about $22 million in the days after the hack, leaving the bulk of user losses unrecovered. With extradition complete, Block's case now moves to the U.S. courts on the 2023 indictment, while repayment for unreimbursed users depends on the FTC's proposed settlement being finalized.