The Top 5 biggest cryptocurrency theft ever!

One of the main causes of crypto instability was the hacking theft that took hundreds of millions of dollars. We present you some of the most spectacular.

With the growth of Bitcoin and other cryptos, hacker incursions into online exchange offices have become more and more common. It is interesting that attacks are most often taking place in Asia, where most investors are located. As the value of mining incredibly jumped, these incursions have become a serious business for criminals (and North Korea, if you believe in the accusations of individual countries). After the last theft, which is the biggest in history, a serious question arises as to how secure the cryptos are online.

Tether, 2017

Stolen amount: $ 31 million

Tether is a cryptocurrency that combines the possibilities of classical money (dollar, euro and yen) and blockchain technology. In November of last year, hackers managed to storm and steal Tether tokens (used for transactions) worth nearly $ 31 million. In response to these problems, Tether introduced measures that prevented attackers from changing stolen tokens into classic currencies or Bitcoin. The result was general panic in the market, which caused the decline in Bitcoin's value.Theft blamed allegations that Bitfinex, one of the largest exchange offices, used Tether to commit fraud, suggesting Tether tokens are tied to the dollar at a 1: 1 ratio, delivering very little evidence that confirms it. The story of Tether and Bitfinex is not over, the US government is very interested in this case, which can further affect the stability of crypts. Many experts consider the value of the crypts much depends on the fate of Tether, which is presented as an example of a stable cryptocurrency because of its attachment to the dollar.

Ethereum, 2017

Stolen amount: $ 31 million

No currency is safe from hackers. If Bitcoin is the most popular currency on a permanent strike, Ethereum as the second most widely-held currency can not be immune. The big theft of this currency occurred last July when an unknown hacker robbed three big wallets. Then Ethereum was stolen at a value of $ 31m so the thief managed to change the ownership of the wallet using the security defect of the system. The owner of a wallet - Swarm City, contacted Ethereum creators who engaged computer experts ("good hackers") to regain money.

These experts have managed to "steal" funds from compromised wallets to keep these assets safe. Conveniently, they used the same methods as thieves, just by knocking down the owners this time. Part of the funds have been saved in this way, but the robbery is still marked as one of the largest. It is interesting that the attack and counterattack played in less than 24 hours. As usual, the main reason for successful robbery is not the genius of the hacker, but the security breach that allowed the plunder to run. It's as if the bank left the unlocked door and then explained that it was not about their stupidity but about the ingenuity of the thieves who just walked in and took the money.

NiceHash, 2017

Stolen amount: $ 78 million

They are not just Asian markets targeted at attack. Slovenes entered this unsightly history after the looting of NiceHash that connects miners of cryptos with those who sell computer power for mining. All transactions are carried out in Bitcoin. Everything on the paper worked great, until a hacker attack on NiceHash servers took place. First, users reported that they could not access their assets or make transactions. When trying to log in, the message was that it was running on server maintenance.Theft could not be concealed, especially as regards the theft of over 4.700 Bitcoin, the value of which was $ 78 million! As it usually happens when the crypto-looting takes place, the funds are gone and they will probably never be found. Interestingly, NiceHash has managed to recover and continue to operate despite the loss suffered. Founder and CEO of company, Marko Kobal, resigned to provide a chance to new management. In a very short time, security structures have been improved while users are still there, probably with the belief that the thunder will not strike twice in the same place. It is interesting that every stolen company after theft comes up with information that the omissions are correct and that everything is super safe now. To some other failure.

Bitfinex, 2016

Stolen amount: $ 72 million

You're probably wondering why Bitfinex's robbery is in second place when the value is lower than the drop in NiceHash. The answer is imposed when he sees that about 120,000 Bitcoins have been stolen! If we were to transfer that sum into the present value of this crypto, we would get an incredible sum of one billion dollars! As for the robbery that took place before the crypto explosion, the stolen Bitcoins were then worth only $ 72 million.Thieves have stolen wallets of users despite multiple protection. Some experts blamed the blockchain company BitGo, which was part of the security procedure, that it was the culprit for the downfall, even though they denied it. Though it turns out that no one is guilty, the thieves managed to carry out the transaction and steal a huge sum of Bitcoin. These assets have never been found, which makes this plunder even more spectacular when it comes to the value of the plunder that has increased multiple times. Bitfinex attempted to tackle an incident by offering damaged customers some coupons that the company will redeem to alleviate the loss. It is interesting that this exchange office has also continued to work with the promise that something like this will never happen again.

Mt. Gox, 2011-2014

Stolen amount: about $ 460 million

Once the largest currency exchange in the world, Mt. Gox, now is an example of how business is not being conducted. It is said to be almost the biggest robbery, since it was then discovered that over 750,000 Bitcoin was stolen from users and another 100,000 owned by Mt. Goxa! The value of the robbery was estimated at about $ 470 million! It turned out that most of the theft was done in 2011. Due to lack of security measures, hackers have been stealing for years without anyone noticing it.

To make it all incredible, Mt. At that time, Gox was the first to trade Bitcoin with over 70 percent of transactions in this crypt. Later, it turns out that the figures were false and that the company's leaders were hiding the financial situation until everything broke out in February 2014. It was then discovered that Mt. Gox and its users have stolen 850,000 Bitcoin and the company has no idea how to return them. Mt. Gox eventually went bankrupt while CEO Mark Karpelés was arrested for embezzlement, which, to make the bizarre higher, has nothing to do with the disappearance of Bitcoin!

In the end, the authorities have tracked 200,000 Bitcoins, which were held to pay off lenders in the bankruptcy process. This is just a part of the story of Mt. Gox Fiasco. The whole story is so incredible that we are certain that one day we will make a film about a bunch of superstitious programmers who have been one of the biggest companies brought to the ground.