Groups Responsible for 60% Crypto Exchange Hacks Revealed

A new study courtesy of Chainalysis suggests that at least two hacking groups are responsible for the majority of digital currency exchange hacks to date. The report from the provider of blockchain analysis software further notes that these professional crime organizations managed to exploit around 60 percent of all publicly reported digital currency exchange hacks. And as far as the dollar value stolen due to these exploits is concerned, it has reportedly reached $1 billion.

Crypto Hacking Groups

The figure in terms of each hacked group averages around $90 million. According to the study, the hacks were traced from two infamous hacking groups. Basically, the hackers move stolen funds via a complex set of wallets and/or exchanges. This is done as a way of disguising the money’s “criminal origins.”

The two anonymous hacking organizations are named by Chainalysis as Alpha and Beta. The former is believed to be a massive group that is primarily fueled by nonmonetary goals. As for the other group, it is said to be a bit smaller and less organized when compared to the first one. And unlike Alpha, Beta is more focused on the money.

Not only do these groups differ in terms of goals and sizes, but they also operate completely different from each other. For starters, Alpha is fond of moving its funds very quickly, specifically right after stealing them. It also has an extremely high number of transactions, with one of its hacks reportedly involved around 15,000 transfers. Lastly, the group is said to be converting 75 percent of its stolen digital currency funds to fiat within 30 days after the hack.

As for Beta, they are all about using as much time as possible. It would usually wait between 6 and 18 months before moving to sell their stolen cryptocurrencies for cash. As soon as they decide to cash out these digital currencies, the process is so quick that it could sell up to 50 percent of their funds within days. An epitome is when the group cashed out $32 million at one go.

Selling Crypto On Licensed Exchanges

What is even surprising is the fact that these hackers were able to sell their stolen cryptocurrencies on licensed and regulated exchanges. This only suggests that the latter’s anti-money laundering efforts are having a hard time identifying the hacked funds.

Chainalysis said that crimes related to digital currencies are drastically increasing. A particular area involves Ethereum scams, which are growing in number despite being smaller in scale.