Chicago-based Stoltmann Law Offices is representing investors who’ve suffered losses from firms that have not protected crypto assets. In this cyber age, some of the biggest thefts don’t involve masked robbers and guns. They happen online as thieves are increasingly stealing digital currencies and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), which are valuable digital images. In the first quarter of this year alone, cyberthieves have robbed some $1.3 billion in hacking events, according to Atlas VPN.
How do thieves pull off these heists? They break into so-called online “digital wallets,” or online exchanges where investors store cyber currencies like Bitcoin. Unlike bank vaults with thick steel doors, these virtual storerooms can be accessed any number of ways through the internet. Third parties act as repositories for the currencies and include:
- The Ethereum ecosystem was hacked 18 times, resulting in a loss of almost $636 million.
- The most significant attack of the quarter occurred at the end of March, when the Axie Infinity sidechain Ronin Network was hacked. The theft totaled $610 million, with 173,600 Ethereum and 25.5 million USDC.
- In the first quarter of 2022, the Solana ecosystem was hacked five times, resulting in a loss of $397 million.
- Wormhole, a communication link between Solana and other DeFi networks, was hacked for the second time this quarter.
- On Solana, an attacker took advantage of a signature verification flaw in the network to create 120K Wormhole-wrapped Ether worth $334 million.
- Cybercriminals have compromised 14 projects in the Binance Smart Chain ecosystem, resulting in losses of approximately $100 million.
- The QBridge deposit feature was used to launch an assault on the Qubit protocol. The hacker was able to generate $80 million in xETH (xplosive Ethereum) collateral as a result of the attack.
“Since the birth of Bitcoin in 2009,” reports Bitcoinst.com, “the crypto industry’s technology has advanced rapidly. Despite this, many crypto companies have failed to establish adequate security systems to prevent hackers from benefitting at the expense of their victims by exploiting security flaws. “Over $12 billion in cryptocurrencies has been stolen in the last 11 years. Hacks involving Decentralized Finance (DeFi) have increased, with fraudulent exchanges stealing up to 40% of cash.”
No matter where you deposit your cryptocurrencies or NFTs – or any investment for that matter – the firms you do business with have an obligation to keep your assets secure. If they don’t, you could have a case in arbitration or litigation.
If you are the victim of a hack and lost cryptocurrency as a result, you could have a claim to pursue in either litigation or arbitration. Please contact Stoltmann Law Offices, P.C. at 312-332-4200 for a free, no obligation consultation with a securities attorney. Stoltmann Law Offices is a contingency fee law firm which means we do not get paid until you do!
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