Elementus, the blockchain investigative body who revealed the full extent of the Cryptopia hack last month, have issued a new update on the whereabouts of the stolen coins amid a protracted period of silence from the exchange. In a tweet, Elementus revealed that the vast majority of the liquidated coins, some $2 million of the $3.2 million worth of tokens the hackers have sold, have gone through EtherDelta, with Binance and Bibox the next biggest recipients of the stolen funds. Overall, the coin sales have been spread out over seventeen exchanges.
Cryptopia update
As of this morning, the hackers have liquidated $3.2m in tokens, with the bulk of that going to Etherdelta pic.twitter.com/QVbb8mSszX— Elementus (@elementus_io) February 4, 2019
Decentralized Exchange Favored
Elementus tracked the liquidated funds to their end-point and found an overwhelming preference for EtherDelta. This is probably because EtherDelta is the most decentralized exchange with relatively good volume, meaning the hackers could anonymously sell the coins and would encounter no withdrawal restrictions. Early reports suggested that the hackers sent some funds through Binance before they were frozen, but they still managed to get over $300,000 worth sold through the platform. Given that some $16 million worth of tokens have been allegedly taken since the hack began on January 14, there is still clearly a great deal more for the thieves to get rid of, potentially giving exchanges more time to work with organizations like Elementus to restrict the flow.
Police Investigation Continues
Cryptopia hasn’t posted any updates on the hack since January 28, since when only rumors and the occasional report from Elementus have revealed any further information, although they could potentially have been advised to keep quiet by the New Zealand Police investigating the case. The Police themselves issued a statement Thursday in which they said that the Cryptopia hack investigation was progressing well:
The Police investigation into the Cryptopia hack and theft of cryptocurrency is progressing well and advancing on several fronts. 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.
How much of this is strictly true only time will tell, but with it being notoriously difficult to physically attach anyone to an address on a blockchain it could be some time before significant breakthroughs are made.
