5 Big Cryptocurrency Losses

5)My Big Coin
Losses:$6M

Source: https://www.techspot.com/news/72941-two-charged-big-coin-cryptocurrency-scam.html

My Big Coin Pay Inc misappropriated about $6 million dollars from customers by misleading them into thinking they were investing in cryptocurrency My Big Coin. The funds were instead transferred to private bank accounts and spent on luxury items, offering little to no returns for investors.

4)SS7 Exploit
Losses:$1M++

Source: https://www.techworm.net/2017/09/hack-gmail-bitcoin-wallet-using-ss7-flaw.html

SS7 is what lets you receive an SMS text from any party that is contacting you. Hackers have breached SS7 allowing spying and data interception which is then used to obtain authentication codes. Hackers then use your codes to access your account and steal all your money with just your name and number. There are even many online tutorials on how to do this. Personally, I view this as the most nefarious method a hacker can use, but it's effective.

3)Bitconnect Closure
Losses:$10M++

Source: https://www.coindesk.com/bitconnect-shutters-crypto-exchange-site-regulator-warnings/

BitConnect's token significantly tanked after news that the exchange was shutting down its lending platform. This led many investors into a panic as many people were going to lose thousands of dollars. BitConnect has been accused of constituting a Ponzi scheme, but they place the blame on several hacks like DDOS attacks.

The token trades for about $6.00 USD which is a fraction of the $300 it sold a month ago. Investors dumped their life saving only to be devastated by the loss, sharing their stories on reddit, youtube, and other social networks.

2)Mt. Gox (Bitcoin Hack 2013)
Losses:$460M

Source: https://www.wired.com/2014/03/bitcoin-exchange/

Mt. Gox, a bitcoin exchange, declared bankruptcy after the disappearance of $460M that has been stolen by hackers. The hack appeared to have began as early as September 2011. Hackers mainly used a Mt. Gox private key which was stolen via a copied wallet.dat file. This method may suggest an insider in the scheme.

1)Coincheck Hack
Losses: $530

Source: http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/29/technology/coincheck-cryptocurrency-exchange-hack-japan/index.html

This marks the world's biggest cryptocurrency hack stealing just over a half billion dollars. Coincheck has promised to partially refund investors affected by the theft. However, it is not known where they will be getting the substantial amount of money from. Hacking has yet again proved to be the biggest threat to cryptocurrency.