Close to $700M of Stolen Crypto Recovered Since the Beginning of This Year
Recently, there have been several thefts of large amounts of cryptocurrency. As of the end of July this year, the total amount stolen has risen to over $60B. However, thanks to the efforts of law enforcement and security experts, a huge sum of this have been recovered. According to data from StockApps.com, close to $700M of stolen crypto has been recovered since January.
Edith Reads from StockApps made some comments on the data. She said, “The recovery rate for stolen cryptocurrency is actually quite high, thanks to the efforts of law enforcement and security experts. This is a huge win for the crypto community, as it shows that even when criminals attempt to take advantage of the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies, there are still ways to track down and recover stolen funds.”
Authority tracks crypto movements
There have been efforts from various governments and organizations to track and recover stolen cryptocurrency. In May, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the creation of a “Cryptocurrency Theft Task Force”. The task force will be tasked with investigating and prosecuting cases of crypto theft.
In June, the G7 nations released a joint statement on cryptocurrency regulation. One of the key points in the statement was the need for “vigilance” when it comes to cryptocurrency theft. The statement also said that the G7 nations are committed to working together to prevent and recover stolen cryptocurrency.
These are just a few examples of the efforts being made to track and recover stolen cryptocurrency. Thanks to these efforts, we are seeing a higher recovery rate for stolen crypto. This is a positive development for the cryptocurrency industry, as it shows that even though criminals are trying to take advantage of the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies, there are still ways to track down and recover stolen funds.
Criminals are putting up a fight, so beware!
Authorities are keen to recover any crypto property lost. Yet, criminals and hackers are not taking it politely. The state has seen hackers and frauds refining their criminal activities to beat the government in monitoring and confiscating cryptos.
One tool these criminals rely on is Mixers. Mixers accept money from various sources, mix them, and redistribute it randomly to conceal the origin of the funds and their final destination. This makes it very hard for the police to track the money and often leads to a dead end.
Criminals have also taken to using decentralized exchanges (DEXs) to launder their money. DEXs are harder for authorities to monitor as they don’t have a central control point. This makes it more difficult to track down stolen funds and prosecute those responsible.
Despite these challenges, the recovery rate for stolen cryptocurrency is still quite high. This is thanks to the efforts of law enforcement and security experts. So, even though criminals are trying to take advantage of the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies, there are still ways to track down and recover stolen funds.
In addition to that, NFT marketplaces have introduced measures to redraft their policy against stolen items. For instance, OpenSea highlighted that its policies were made considering United States laws, where knowingly allowing the sale of stolen items is prohibited.
Also, governments have been working on this issue to avoid further incidents, such as the Dubai police, where officers are being trained on the matter. It is important to note that the Dubai police was the first to launch a dedicated virtual assets crime department.
