Record-high seizure of $5bn in stolen Bitcoin

News today reports that stolen Bitcoin worth more than $5bn (£3.7bn) has been seized by the US Department of Justice – the largest ever confiscation of its kind. Officials also arrested and charged two people on Tuesday with attempting to launder the money. The funds, stolen by a hacker who breached a cryptocurrency exchange in 2016, were valued at about $71m.

Mark Tibbs, Cyber Intelligence Director at MDR Cyber, says:

“This landmark case demonstrates that coupling crypto-tracing alongside other more traditional investigatory methods, in this case search warrants for digital media, allows the veil of anonymity associated with crypto transactions to be pierced, wrongdoers brought to justice and stolen money recovered.

This enormous seizure represents a significant step-change in authorities’ success and ability to apply enforcement measures to seize stolen cryptocurrency. It dwarfs the value of previous seizures, the highest of which previously was in the low millions of dollars.

Using criminal and civil powers to chase down stolen funds from hacks and frauds is increasingly common and evidently an effective method in the realm of cryptocurrency. This is quickly becoming a crucial strategy for law enforcement, prosecutors and legal firms looking to make recoveries on behalf of victims.”