Since the beginning of 2019, cybercriminals have stolen $4.3 billion in cryptocurrencies. This is evidenced by the CipherTrace company's new report on cybersecurity and analytics of blockchain networks, reports Cointelegraph.
Related: Regulators: Blockchain increases money laundering risks
Researchers analyzed types of crime using digital currencies such as hacker attacks, theft and fraud. According to their estimates, in the first quarter of 2019, fraudsters managed to steal $124 million from cryptocurrency exchanges. Since the beginning of the year, the amount of funds stolen from trading floors reached $480 million.
The largest incident included in the CipherTrace report was the exit scam of PlusToken crypto-wallet developers, who allegedly hid from $3 billion of user funds.
In addition, analysts have studied the use of cryptocurrencies by criminals. So, bitcoin remains the most common coin among visitors to illegal platforms: it was used in 76% of cases.
It is noteworthy that anonymous cryptocurrencies are practically not used on darknet markets, despite the fact that regulators from different countries often propose banning privacy-oriented coins allegedly used for illegal activities. Thus, CipherTrace claims that criminals turned to Monero in only 4% of cases.
According to researchers, bitcoin was used in 98% of cases when it came to malware and ransomware.