Stolen Cryptocurrencies Reach over $11 Billion in the Past Years

USA – The number of stolen cryptocurrencies in the past nine years reaches over $11 billion. The number of hacking incidents increased in the previous year.

As per a report, in the previous nine years, the various hacking occurrences of cryptocurrencies amounted to over 11 billion. The number of hacking activities peaked in 2019, wherein about eight institutions suffered the breaches. These establishments lost over $101 million, according to Inside Bitcoins, an online news source for crypto that’s based in London.

On the other hand, the biggest robbery was in 2014, wherein the number of cryptocurrencies reached $6.68 billion. The heist was reported to have four various incidents. According to the report, it stated that a significant amount was stolen in digital asset trade hackings. Furthermore, it said that other affected schemes contain mining schemes and wallets.

The digital asset market is massive, with over 12,000 trading marketplaces, wherein cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Bitcoin, and other altcoins are traded. Account details, which are also referred to as private keys in digital asset parlance, can be stolen if not appropriately protected. Moreover, these can be hacked if the funds are detained in those accounts.

The international market for the digital asset was at $574.3 million in the year 2017, as per Transparency Market Research, a consultancy company from New York. It foresees that the crypto market will amount to $6.7 billion by the year 2025. Moreover, it’s growing at multiple yearly growth rates of 31.3% between the years 2017 and 2025.

The primary hacking was recorded in 2011 when Mt. Gox from Tokyo lost about $17.2 million. The theft was supposedly arranged from a cooperated computer of an auditor in the firm.

In January 2014, Mt. Gox was the first Bitcoin exchange in the globe, and it was regulating about 70% of all international transactions. Nonetheless, the exchange grieved the most significant hack, which is in February 2014, and it lost $6.5 billion. Furthermore, the company regulating the trade successively filed for insolvency.

Hackers are utilizing a diversity of techniques, which includes viruses and phishing to hack a significant amount of user data, as per Inside Bitcoins. The report also stated that blockchain technology is vulnerable to hacking. It calls for teamwork between investors and users to lessen the losses.

In 2019, cyber offenders stole about 7,000 Bitcoins, which is worth $60.5 million, from Binance, a Malta-based scheme. According to Zhao Changpeng, the thefts utilized some different techniques, and they had the endurance to wait and do actions via multiple independent accounts. Furthermore, he also added that the transaction is outlined in a manner that passed their security checks.

Regardless of the increasing activities of breaches, the crypto industry specialists anticipate more users will purchase digital assets in the forthcoming years.