Match Systems, a blockchain company, successfully preserves $68m
Match Systems, a blockchain forensics company, made an exciting announcement on Saturday that they had successfully recovered $68 million of stolen cryptocurrency. The theft, known as a “dust” attack, occurred on May 3 and the funds were returned to the victim with the help of Match Systems and cryptocurrency exchange Cryptex.net, both based in the UAE.
The story, previously reported by crypto.news, began when a crypto whale fell victim to an “address poisoning” attack, resulting in the theft of 1,155.28 WBTC, equivalent to a staggering $69.3 million at the time. Initially, the victim attempted to establish contact with the attacker, even offering a 10% bounty, but received no response. However, on May 9, the attacker unexpectedly reached out to the victim via Telegram.
The victim then sought the expertise of Match Systems CEO Andrei Kutin to trace and recover the stolen funds. The company’s investigators followed a complex trail of transactions, with the stolen funds bouncing between different addresses to obscure their origins. Despite the challenges, Match Systems’ investigators were able to meticulously trace the flow of assets and close in on the perpetrators.
While the company did not provide specific details about the recovery process, the sudden change in the attacker’s behavior has sparked curiosity within the crypto community. After a week-long pursuit, Match Systems successfully retrieved the stolen funds and returned them to their rightful owner, despite a slight depreciation due to the conversion of WBTC to Ether (ETH) by the attacker.
Match Systems highlighted the importance of promptly reporting theft incidents to increase the chances of recovery. Address poisoning, a deceptive tactic that mimics legitimate wallet addresses, poses a significant threat to users’ financial security. According to Match Systems, reporting incidents within the first hour increases the chances of recovery to 70%, which decreases to 60% if reported within four hours and 50% within 24 hours. Waiting a month to report the incident significantly reduces the chances of successful recovery to just 20%.
In related news, the House is considering legislation to provide regulatory clarity for digital assets, a development that could have significant implications for the crypto industry.
