Due to Encryption in Cryptocurrencies, Only 20% of Stolen Funds Are Recovered

20% Chance to Recover Your Bitcoins if They Are Stolen

During the last years, there were several attacks to cryptocurrency exchanges, services, platforms and wallets. And an important number of users have lost their funds due to these attacks. And indeed, it is very difficult for users to recover their funds.

However, security experts consider that the number of cryptocurrencies stolen is much bigger than what the statistics really show. This happens because victims do not even report these situations believing that they will not recover their funds anymore.

Because of this reason, Reuters reports that investors do not expect criminals to be captured when they attack users, and cyber-criminals decide to enter the crypto market because there are no clear rules and laws around them.

According to Patrick Wyman, a supervisory special agent in the financial crimes sections of the FBI, explains that decentralized systems are not governed by any entity and any anti-money laundering compliance.

As the crypto market grows, new crimes and attacks take place. At the same time, security professionals think that investigators are more worried about high-profile cases leaving smaller investors unattended. Jaroslav Jakubcek, an analyst at Europol, says that it is impossible for law enforcement agencies to commit resources to every single crime that takes place.

According to Autonomous NEXT and Crypto Aware, a financial research firm, $1.7 billion dollars worth of cryptocurrencies were stolen between 2012 and 2018. And this year, $800 million dollars have already been stolen.

Another expert, David Jevans, CEO of California-based CipherTrace, just 20 per cent of stolen cryptocurrencies are recovered. This happens because it is very easy to move the funds around and launder money using different methods.

Moreover, starting an investigation with different agencies from several countries is not so easy and it takes time and money.

Just a few days ago, a Norwegian investor was murdered when he tried to sell his Bitcoins to a stranger.

Security agencies will have a tough task to improve their services and how they will get updated on the matter. Cryptocurrencies continue to grow and new regulatory frameworks should also be imposed.