The theft of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum is becoming increasingly common and has become a high-priority target for fraudsters. According to a recent report compiled by Chainalysis, cybercriminals made away with a whopping $14 billion worth of crypto assets in 2021, translating to a 79% increase in crypto-related crime compared to the previous year. Scamming and hacking were the two biggest forms of crypto-related crimes reported. The question on most investors’ minds is: Can cryptocurrency be stolen, and if so, can you get it back? Here’s everything you need to know about how to recover stolen cryptocurrency.

Can My Bitcoin Be Stolen?

The short answer is—yes. To understand how this would be possible, you need to familiarize yourself with how this widely popular form of cryptocurrency came into being. Bitcoin was first launched in 2009 and was designed to be a decentralized virtual currency. The idea behind its creation was that it was supposed to be independent of government and bank oversight and would not be regulated by any single administrator. Instead, every transaction would be recorded on a public ledger referred to as a blockchain, which is how all currency activities would be logged and verified.

Since its creation, security has been a major concern for crypto. On the one hand, the blockchain technology on which Bitcoin runs is extremely difficult to hack. It is constantly being analyzed and improved upon by Bitcoin users, making the possibility of hacking the framework it runs on near-impossible and very unlikely. On the other hand, simply because the technology Bitcoin runs on is difficult to hack doesn’t necessarily mean that your investment is safe. Fraudsters employ other avenues to steal crypto-assets at different phases of the trading process.

Digital Wallets and Crypto Exchanges

Bitcoins and other forms of cryptocurrencies are stored in wallets. Users rely on digital currency platforms known as crypto exchanges to trade (buy, sell, and exchange) crypto assets. Coinbase is one of several popular crypto exchanges. These two components pose some inherent security risks that may lead to the loss of crypto assets through theft and other types of fraudulent activities. While the developers of these platforms are always looking for ways to improve their overall security, fraudsters mainly focus on using dubious means to gain access to people’s wallets before proceeding to empty them of the crypto assets contained within.

Two-factor authentication is the most commonly used security measure implemented on these platforms during a cryptocurrency transaction. The transaction’s security is linked to an individual’s phone number or email address, which subsequently means that anyone who has access to any of the two components can verify and validate the transactions. If a sufficiently motivated hacker can determine a good amount of your non-crypto-related personal information, they have everything they need to hack your wallet and transact without your knowledge or authorization. The widely publicized Coinbase hacking is one of many hacks, scams, and frauds that have plagued individual investors who’ve had their crypto assets stolen after cybercriminals capitalized on security loopholes in crypto wallets and exchanges.

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