NEW YORK: Theft of cryptocurrencies through hacking of exchanges and trading platforms soared to $927 million in the first nine months of the year, up nearly 250 percent from the level seen in 2017, according to a report from US-based cybersecurity firm CipherTrace released on Wednesday.
The report, which looks at criminal activity and money laundering in the digital currency market, also showed a steadily growing number of smaller thefts in the $20-60 million range, totaling $173 million in the third quarter.
Digital currencies stolen from exchanges in 2017 totaled just $266 million, according to a previous report from CipherTrace.
Bitcoin’s popularity and the emergence of more than 1,600 other digital coins or tokens have drawn more hackers into the cryptocurrency space, expanding opportunities for crime and fraud.
“The regulators are still a couple of years behind because there are only a few countries that have really applied strong anti-money laundering laws,” Dave Jevans, chief executive officer of CipherTrace, told Reuters in an interview.
Jevans is also the chairman of the Anti-Phishing Working Group, a global organization that aims to help solve cybercrime.
He said there are likely 50 percent more criminal transactions than those that were traced for this report. For instance, CipherTrace is aware of more than $60 million in cryptocurrency that was stolen but not reported.
The data also showed that the world’s top cryptocurrency exchanges from countries with weak anti-money laundering regulations have been used to launder $2.5 billion worth of bitcoins since 2009. The top 20 virtual currency exchanges in terms of volume were analyzed for the report.
The CipherTrace report declined to name those exchanges.
These money-laundered funds represent transactions that CipherTrace was able to directly monitor and designate as criminal or highly suspect.
In estimating the $2.5 billion, CipherTrace looked at about 350 million transactions from the 20 exchanges and found 100 million of those with counterparties. From there, the firm was able to cross-check the 100 million transactions with its own data on criminal activity.
At the same time, these exchanges have also been used to purchase 236,979 bitcoins worth of criminal services, equivalent to approximately $1.5 billion at current prices, the report showed.
“All exchanges get these money-laundered funds. You really can’t stop them,” said Jevans.
“And here’s the reason why. We learn about the criminal stuff often times after it actually happened. So, there’s no way to know in real time. You can know 80-90 percent of the time, but it’s impossible to know 100 percent,” he added.
Cryptocurrency theft hits nearly $1 billion in first nine months
Cryptocurrency theft hits nearly $1 billion in first nine months
- Digital currencies stolen from exchanges in 2017 totaled just $266 million
Saudi Arabia’s industrial production jumps 10.4% in January: GASTAT
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s industrial production index rose to 115 in January, up 10.4 percent from a year earlier, driven by higher crude output and stronger mining activity, official data showed.
The latest report released by the General Authority for Statistics showed that the annual surge was primarily fueled by a 13.3 percent jump in the mining and quarrying sub-index, which includes oil production.
Saudi Arabia raised crude oil output to 10.1 million barrels per day in January from 8.9 million barrels per day a year earlier, supporting growth in the mining and quarrying sub-index and contributing to the broader expansion in industrial activity.
The latest IPI figures underscore continued momentum in the Kingdom’s industrial sector as Saudi Arabia pursues economic diversification under its Vision 2030 agenda.
The manufacturing sector, a key pillar of the Kingdom’s economic diversification efforts, also contributed positively to the annual growth. The manufacturing sub-index rose by 6.8 percent compared to January of the previous year.
This was underpinned by strong performances in the manufacture of chemicals and chemical products, which grew by 10.6 percent, and the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products, which increased by 9.1 percent. The food products industry also saw an annual growth of 9.1 percent.
The water supply, sewerage, and waste management activities recorded the highest annual growth among the major sectors, increasing by 11.7 percent.
Despite the strong year-on-year performance, the IPI showed a slight contraction on a monthly basis, decreasing by 0.5 percent compared to December 2025. This decline was driven by a 1.4 percent drop in the manufacturing sub-index from the previous month.
The monthly downturn in manufacturing was largely attributed to decreases in the same sectors that fueled its annual growth, with coke and petroleum products down 1.1 percent and chemicals down 1.2 percent.
A breakdown by main economic activities shows that the index for oil activities jumped 12.5 percent annually, while non-oil activities also posted a healthy gain of 5.3 percent.
On a monthly basis, both indices saw minor declines, with oil activities dipping 0.1 percent and non-oil activities falling by 1.5 percent.
The electricity, gas, and air conditioning supply sub-index was the only major sector to record an annual decrease, falling by 1.3 percent compared to January 2025.
