Match Systems, a leading blockchain investigation firm, made an exciting announcement over the weekend regarding the recovery of $68 million in stolen cryptocurrency. The incident, which took place on May 3, was labeled a “dust” attack. Thanks to the collaboration between Match Systems, based in the UAE, and the cryptocurrency exchange Cryptex.net, the stolen funds were successfully returned to the victim.
In a separate incident, a crypto whale suffered a loss of $69.3 million in Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) due to an address poisoning attack. This shocking theft of 1,155.28 WBTC was reported earlier this month by crypto.news. Despite initial attempts by the victim to communicate with the attacker and even offering a 10% reward, there was no response. However, on May 9, the attacker unexpectedly reached out to the victim via Telegram.
The victim sought the expertise of Match Systems CEO Andrei Kutin to trace and recover the funds. Through a meticulous investigation, the experts at Match Systems were able to follow the trail of the stolen assets through complex transactions and eventually track down the perpetrators.
Although the details of the recovery process were not disclosed, the sudden change in the attacker’s behavior has sparked curiosity within the crypto community. Match Systems confirmed that after a week-long pursuit, the stolen funds were successfully retrieved and returned to the rightful owner, despite a slight depreciation due to the conversion of WBTC to Ether by the attacker.
Match Systems also emphasized the importance of promptly reporting incidents of theft, such as address poisoning, to increase the chances of recovering stolen funds. The company estimates that reporting incidents within the first hour can result in a 70% chance of recovery, which decreases to 60% within four hours, 50% within 24 hours, and drops significantly to 20% if reported after a month.
As the crypto industry continues to evolve, it is crucial for victims of theft to act swiftly and seek the assistance of experts like Match Systems to ensure the recovery of their assets.