Pic source: Reuters Illustration Photo
10 percent to hackers
10 percent of the money that is invested through Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) ends up in the hands of hackers.
That is what EY (=Ernst&Young) accountancy firm concluded on the basis of its own research, in which 372 ICOs were examined.
For example, via an ICO, startups can collect money by selling digital 'tokens' in exchange for money. These tokens can be used by buyers to use the software or services that the startup develops, and can also be traded.
According to EY, nearly 4 billion dollars have been raised since mid-2015 through this financing methode. But 10 percent of the issued tokens would now end up in the hands of hackers, causing up to 1.5 million dollars per month.
Phishing
In particular, the tokens would be captured through phishing, in which victims inadvertently send their purchased cryptocurrency to the wrong address, or the secret key that gives access to their so-called 'wallet'.
Several websites of financial providers were also copied via cryptocurrency, after which the hackers shared a link to these fake websites via social media and internet forums. Also via hacks at Crypto exchanges, part of the invested money would be lost.
According to EY, in August of last year, cryptocurrencies were stolen for almost 1.4 million dollars through these methods.
On Monday both bitcoin and several other crypto coins declined considerably in value, partly due to rumors that South Korea is preparing a high tax bill for cryptocurrences.
By: NU.nl