The infamous Cryptopia hack, which resulted in over $16 million in crypto funds being withdrawn from unsuspecting user accounts over the span of 2 weeks, is being thoroughly investigated by New Zealand police, international law enforcement, and specialists worldwide.
The hack initially began on January 15 and lasted for around 2 weeks, during which tens of thousands of Ethereum (ETH) wallets on Cryptopia were compromised, leaving hackers in full control of their funds.
NZ Police: “Excellent Progress Is Being Made”
New Zealand authorities confirmed they were investigating on January 16, and today, February 7, they have finally released a follow-up press release. Per the report, police confirmed that they are coordinating an international investigation to track both the stolen funds and hackers.
As stated by Detective Inspector Greg Murton:
“The stolen cryptocurrency is being actively tracked by police and specialists worldwide due to the nature of the cryptocurrency blockchains being publicly available. Excellent progress is being made in the investigation and we are working with Cryptopia management plus current and former employees who have been providing valuable assistance.”
Investigation
Moreover, the report noted that this is a complex investigation that will take a considerable amount of time due to the lack of regulations in the cyber environment. However, Murton did add that the investigation going on at Cryptopia’s New Zealand headquarters will be concluded by the end of next week.
Moreover, while police investigators try and track down the lost funds and perpetrators, crypto exchanges are urged to take the proper measures to stop the hackers from selling stolen funds.
Everything stored on the blockchain and is open and accessible, so there is no reason the hackers should get away with selling the stolen funds, as the funds are being tracked very closely by investigators and blockchain enthusiasts around the world.
Binance, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency exchange, has already liquidated stolen funds when the hackers attempted to quickly sell the stolen funds shortly after the hack.
While Binance was on top of things, smaller and lesser-known crypto exchanges who care less about compliance and reputation may not take action to freeze funds. Therefore, investigators must be on top of their game to quickly intervene if need be.
Do you think the Cryptopia hackers will be able to sell the stolen funds? Will NZ police and investigators apprehend the hackers and stolen funds? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.
