The amount of stolen crypto assets in 2020 breaks records

Losses from theft of cryptocurrency, hacks and fraud since the beginning of the year amounted to almost 1.4 billion dollars.

CipherTrace specializing incrypto-research published a report focusing on the growing scale of theft in the crypto industry. Current figures indicate a new counter record compared to last year, when $ 4.5 billion was stolen over the course of 12 months.

Experts suggest that the coronavirus pandemicgave scammers new opportunities. Since the beginning of the year, many fake sites have appeared that masquerade as official groups associated with the coronavirus. Under the guise of the World Health Organization, the Red Cross, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, scammers lure funds to fight COVID-19, sell tests, imaginary vaccines, and “drugs” for cryptocurrency. 98% of digital assets stolen this year were for fraud and misappropriation, not for hacks and direct thefts.

According to a report by CipherTrace, the biggest source of crypto losses this year was China's Wotoken, a financial pyramid worth $1 billion.According to news reports, the Wotoken scheme has given investors the opportunity to earn income by using algorithmic trading bots and offering referral commissions to affiliates.However, the advertised trading software did not exist.

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