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Worst cryptocurrency hacking incidents in history

Worst cryptocurrency hacking incidents in history

Bitcoin has been the victim of numerous hacking incidents over the years.

One of the worst of these was in August 2016, when a large portion of the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex was compromised. During that time, the total value of bitcoin was $350 million.

The US government eventually recovered part of the funds and identified two Israeli brothers involved in the attack. They moved the stolen coins from one wallet to another. It is believed that the individuals behind this attack were trying to profit from the high price of bitcoin.

The first crypto exchange hit by hackers was VinDAX, conducting token sales for unidentified blockchain projects. The hackers hacked the site and then used stolen funds to send money to other wallets. The exchange then contacted the projects affected by the hack to return the funds. The projects have not yet accepted the offer. Cryptopia was hacked a second time, fifteen days after the initial attack in the same year. It is currently liquidating after the attack.

Biggest crypto hack

Even the biggest crypto hacks were not attacks against the blockchain itself. They were attacks on exchanges or software clients, not on the actual currency. However, this doesn't mean that cryptocurrency is immune to hacking incidents. Most of these incidents result from poor security practices on the part of users or exchanges. For example, a hack in 2016 allowed hackers to steal $60 million worth of bitcoins by exploiting a flaw in Ethereum's smart contract.

Some of the most famous hacking incidents in cryptocurrency history happened over several years. The most well-known hack involved Mt. Gox exchange, and it is considered one of the worst in history. This hack took place over several years, and the thieves managed to steal over 850,000 bitcoins worth $460 million. At the time, this was about $27.4 million, and today, the same amount of bitcoins is worth more than $8.3 billion!

It's not entirely clear why Coincheck was targeted. The cryptocurrency exchange didn't use a multi-signature wallet to store the NEM tokens. Instead, the exchange keeps most of its crypto reserves in cold storage. The hacking incident was discovered. The company has since frozen all its transactions. But it's not clear why the company's network was compromised.

The Coincheck exchange in Japan was hacked in January 2018 and was accused of stealing $500 million in NEM tokens. The hackers were able to access the funds without difficulty. While Coincheck is still in operation and has repaid the victims, this event has led to new security measures for other crypto exchanges. However, the hack has sparked a national security debate about the security of cryptocurrency exchanges.

A recent hack of the cryptocurrency mining platform NiceHash has left its users with thousands of bitcoins worth more than $70 million. According to the company, hackers obtained their credentials through a phishing email. NiceHash has initiated a reimbursement program to prevent future incidents and will reimburse customers in full. The hack was the worst in history and will serve as a cautionary tale for other cryptocurrency services providers.

In August 2016, one of the most famous cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinrail, was hacked, and users lost around $240,000 in Bitcoin. According to the website's owner, the hacker had access to an unencrypted backup of wallet keys. The attacker also gained access to a customer's private keys. As a result, the attacker could withdraw around 377,000 ETH from users' accounts.

In June 2018, the cryptocurrency exchange Coinrail was hacked, causing a loss of more than $40 million. The hacker stole up to 30 percent of the coins, totaling $37.2 million. The incident caused a severe negative mood in cryptocurrency markets.

It spurred the authorities to step up their scrutiny of exchanges. As a result, US investigators are requesting data from bitcoin exchanges. They are also investigating potential manipulation in the futures markets.

Final words

From the works crypto hack, Hackers took 4,700 Bitcoin worth $64 million. Use Quantum AI Trading to save crypto from hackers. NiceHash CMO Andrej Skraba called the theft the largest theft in Ukrainian history.

It was likely the work of the North Korean-based Lazarus group. Afterward, the exchange spent three years paying back affected customers out of its profits. Recently, the company announced that it would reimburse all of its customers in December 2020.

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