According to a press release that the BIG Blockchain Intelligence Group published today, the company says it tracked the proceeds of the major Coincheck breach to a digital currency exchange based in Vancouver.
The Coincheck breach involved unidentified hackers stealing a total of around 500 million NEM (XEM) from the exchange, which was valued at approximately $1 USD per coin at the time. This placed the total amount lost by investors in a range of approximately $500 million USD (over $600 million CAD).
According to the team, its conclusions regarding the stolen digital currency were made via an internal team that actively worked the case over a period of time.
“We have a really great internal team here who is very smart when it comes to cryptocurrencies and blockchain,” said BIG executive chairman, president, and co-founder, Shone Anstey, in a statement to Coinsquare Discover. “We have our own internal tools as well that we’ve developed over time. We have our division which is led by a former supervisor/special agent out of Homeland [Security].”
BIG claims funds are being “laundered”
Based in Vancouver, BIG stated that its Forensic and Investigations Division was able to trace the missing coins to a currently unnamed digital currency exchange located in the same city, where it claims “funds are being laundered out.”
“The NEM (XEM coin) has a strong and loyal crypto community that has been affected by this hack,” said Director of Forensics and Investigations, Robert Whitaker. “Our corporate mandate at BIG Blockchain Intelligence Group is to provide technology and services that bring cryptocurrency mainstream and create security in the sector, which is why we’re stepping up to help bring transparency and insight to this example of illicit activity.”
The news comes following the company’s late 2017 announcement that it began a “two-stage strategy” to crack down on digital currency laundering. The strategy was said to involve working with law enforcement and financial institutions to understand the scope of the issue and provide proprietary tools to crack down on illicit activity.
Difficulty in backing BIG’s statements
The team stated that it is currently unable to reveal the identity of the exchange, due to an “ongoing investigation.” Further, Anstey said that the company is working closely with law enforcement both in Canada and Washington, DC, and could not comment on what it expected the impact of these findings to be.
However, Anstey stated that the company’s mandate is to help clean up the image of digital currencies, which it purportedly hopes to do with this announcement.
“We’re a very pro-cryptocurrency company,” he said. “We believe very much in Bitcoin and [digital currencies], but we do recognize that regulations and compliance will have to be met, and the image will have to be cleaned up. We’re working on it on all fronts.”
Currently, BIG’s announcement is only verified by the company itself, meaning that its claims are difficult to back at this point in time.