Over $26M drained from Truebit protocol

Ethereum-based verification protocol Truebit had $26.44 million worth of cryptocurrency stolen in what is considered the first major crypto heist of the year, reports The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

Investigation into the incident, which is believed to have been conducted by at least one malicious actor, is already ongoing, according to Truebit, which called on users to ignore the compromised smart contract. Such a development comes amid a Chainalysis report detailing the mounting professionalization in the cryptocurrency crime scene. At least $154 billion had been delivered to malicious cryptocurrency addresses last year, which is a 162% year-over-year growth, with most of the funds directed to sanctioned organizations, including Chinese cryptocurrency and money laundering operations.

"Various other Chinese language guarantee services similar to Huione have taken on a portion of the volumes for advertisements of illicit activity, including the sale of scam technology, as well as money laundering services," said Chainalysis Head of National Security Intelligence Andrew Fierman.