According to CoinDesk, Blockchain startup Coinfirm have been monitoring the 7,000 SegWitCoin (BTC) that was initially stolen from Binance on May 7.
Even though the stolen cryptocurrency funds have remained in the hacker’s wallet for a while after their initial cyber intrusion, it ultimately started to move from wallet to wallet, though none of it were truly being liquidated for fiat. That is to say, until most recently.
In the most recent report, Coinfirm indicate signs that suggest a potential commencement of transferring stolen illicit cryptocurrency funds to fiat via cryptocurrency exchanges.
Coinfirm’s co-founder Grant Blaisdell elucidated that the hackers were able to liquidate some of the stolen cryptocurrency funds in various exchanges. He stated:
“Analysis of one of the mainchains used by the hacker in layering stolen funds shows that they were able to liquidate at least 1.8087 BTC (21,000.00 USD) on the following exchanges.”
At the time of this article’s publication, the hackers have successfully managed to liquidate solely $21,000 while the most significant portion of stolen coins remains on a large number of wallets.
The hackers utilized some well-known worldwide and local exchanges for cashing out their Bitcoins:
Bitfinex: 0,7934 BTC
Binance: 0,4294 BTC
Bitmex: 0,0022 BTC
KuCoin: 0,0713 BTC
Kuna: 0,2482 BTC
Bitmarket: 0,2560 BTC
Crypterra: 0,0072 BTC
Bitcoin.de: 0,0007 BTC
WazirX: 0,0003 BTC
It’s evident that the hackers have had the assets liquidated on the cryptocurrency exchanges or such assets have stayed dormant.
Given that the hackers operate millions of dollars, such sums appear to be incredibly sparse. Nevertheless, veteran hackers typically take their time and proceed cautiously to avoid being identified and arrested by law enforcement agencies such as the FBI and Europol. Transferring additional funds generally requires Identity Verification (ID).
Paradoxically, the second-largest among of Bitcoin (0,4294 BTC) was sent to Binance, the exchange that was the victim of the cyber intrusion. Hence, the irony is that the hackers have sent some of the stolen illicit cryptocurrency funds back to Binance to ultimately liquidate them.
By virtue of the anonymous nature of cryptocurrencies, it could be extremely difficult to identify the culprits responsible for the hack. Sophisticated cybercriminals typically deploy mixing services (tumblers) to render investigations increasingly tricky. Sneaky cybercriminals will always launder their stolen funds using a variety of methods.
This illustrates how cybercriminals who have engaged in high-profile exchange security breaches are rarely caught, with few notable exceptions.
