Cryptocurrency theft is a growing concern in the digital asset space, with high-profile exchanges and individual investors increasingly targeted by sophisticated hackers. In one of the largest crypto heists to date, over $1.5 billion in digital assets was stolen from a major exchange's cold wallet—a storage solution designed specifically for enhanced security. The stolen Ethereum was rapidly transferred through multiple wallets and converted to cash using mixing services, mirroring traditional money laundering techniques.
For journalists covering this evolving beat, understanding how to track and investigate these digital thefts is essential. The following tools provide powerful capabilities for identifying, tracing, and analyzing stolen cryptocurrency assets across blockchain networks.
Chainalysis: Comprehensive Blockchain Analysis
Chainalysis stands as one of the most widely-used investigation platforms among journalists, law enforcement agencies, and financial institutions. The tool provides extensive data, software services, and research capabilities that support identification and tracking of stolen cryptocurrency assets.
This platform serves government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and cybersecurity companies across more than 70 countries. Its market intelligence tools have played crucial roles in solving some of the most notable cryptocurrency cases, including the takedown of illicit platforms and recovery of stolen funds. The data provided helps users access cryptocurrency networks more securely while supporting compliance efforts worldwide.
GeoSpy AI: Geolocation Intelligence
This powerful artificial intelligence tool analyzes various elements within images—including vegetation, architectural styles, and spatial relationships between structures—to accurately predict where photographs were taken. Such image analysis can provide critical leads during cryptocurrency investigations.
Many hackers openly flaunt their illicit gains on social media platforms following successful attacks. By capturing these images and uploading them to GeoSpy AI, investigators can use coordinate data to pinpoint exact locations. This technique has already helped senior cryptocurrency investigators identify suspects in major hacking cases involving hundreds of millions of dollars.
Due to its powerful tracking capabilities and privacy concerns, public access to GeoSpy AI is now restricted. However, journalists and news organizations can apply for access to support their investigative work.
OnChain Industries: Cross-Platform Identification
OnChain Industries utilizes open-source intelligence and artificial intelligence to uncover connections between email addresses, usernames, and cryptocurrency wallet addresses, revealing associated Web3 accounts.
This tool proves particularly valuable for journalists tracing connections between identities across various cryptocurrency platforms, especially on Web3 marketplaces like OpenSea. It can help expose money laundering activities, stolen assets, and sanctions evasion operations involving cryptocurrency.
With over 100 integrated modules (platforms) for information searching, the tool significantly expands investigation scope—a critical advantage when conducting complex blockchain research. The platform is available free of charge to both law enforcement professionals and journalists.
Elliptic: Advanced Transaction Tracing
Established in 2013, Elliptic provides blockchain analytics solutions to financial institutions and law enforcement agencies, assisting in tracking cybercrime suspects and ensuring compliance with cryptocurrency regulations, particularly regarding sanctions evasion.
The platform traces payment sources back to their origin, including "Know Your Customer" verified wallets. Tracking asset paths through mixing processes helps identify unusual patterns and supports recovery of stolen funds. Elliptic has integrated artificial intelligence into its toolkit for monitoring blockchain transactions and managing risk detection, enabling faster and more comprehensive data organization.
👉 Explore advanced investigation techniques
Arkham Intelligence: Entity Identification
Arkham Intelligence is a cryptocurrency exchange renowned for its blockchain analytics capabilities. The platform provides visibility into real-world entities associated with blockchain addresses through advanced AI technology that analyzes, categorizes, and presents various on-chain data related to tokens and entities.
This functionality enables journalists to identify patterns, trace transactions, and develop comprehensive understanding of stolen asset flows. Arkham Intelligence collaborated with Elliptic to identify suspects in the massive exchange hack, tracing the activity to the Lazarus Group from North Korea.
The Arkham Visualizer function provides journalists with a comprehensive overview of all transactions associated with specific addresses, quickly generating summary reports suitable for investigation. When unusual transaction patterns emerge, journalists can drill deeper into the data. For instance, if assets are transferred to entities unrelated to known business activities, the system may flag this as anomalous, prompting further scrutiny.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes cryptocurrency theft different from traditional financial theft?
Cryptocurrency theft occurs digitally across borderless networks, often providing pseudonymity to thieves. Unlike traditional banking systems, cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible, making recovery more challenging without specialized tracking tools.
How do mixing services complicate cryptocurrency investigations?
Mixing services, also called tumblers, combine multiple cryptocurrency streams to obscure transaction trails. This process resembles money laundering in traditional finance, requiring specialized blockchain analysis tools to trace stolen funds through these obfuscation layers.
Can stolen cryptocurrency actually be recovered?
Yes, with proper investigation using blockchain analysis tools, stolen cryptocurrency can sometimes be traced and recovered, particularly when coordinated with exchanges and law enforcement agencies. However, recovery becomes increasingly difficult once assets are converted to other currencies or extensively mixed.
Are these tools accessible to individual investors?
While some platforms offer limited public services, most comprehensive tools are designed for professional investigators, journalists, and law enforcement. Individual investors should focus on security prevention rather than investigation after theft occurs.
What basic steps can journalists take when investigating crypto theft?
Journalists should start by documenting the wallet addresses involved, tracing transaction histories through blockchain explorers, identifying patterns in fund movements, and using specialized tools to connect digital addresses to real-world entities.
How important is international cooperation in investigating major crypto thefts?
Given the borderless nature of cryptocurrency networks, international cooperation is essential for major investigations. Sharing intelligence across jurisdictions significantly improves the chances of identifying suspects and recovering stolen assets.