On Wednesday night, the Indian cryptocurrency platform WazirX experienced a significant cyberattack, resulting in the theft of at least $230 million worth of cryptocurrency. The breach was first detected by several blockchain security companies, including Elliptic, Arkham, and BlockSec. These firms observed large amounts of digital coins being siphoned out of WazirX before the platform acknowledged the security breach.

In part one of our “Follow the Crypto” series, we highlighted the growing need for cryptocurrency investigations in the fight against fraud. We discussed the hurdles that investigations face, from the anonymous nature of transactions to the complexity of analyzing blockchain data, but also noted some famous successful investigations.

Fireblocks Off Exchange enables businesses across the world to trade on centralized exchanges without introducing counterparty risk. Today, we’re proud to share that Bybit is the newest exchange to integrate with Off Exchange. Bybit, a crypto exchange ranked the second-largest in the world, joins Deribit, with further integrations to follow. These include BIT, Bitget, Coinhako, Gate.io, One Trading, and OKX.

HTX is the latest global exchange to integrate with Fireblocks Off Exchange, a first-of-its-kind solution that enables trading firms and asset managers to mitigate counterparty risk while trading on centralized exchanges. Through integrating with Off Exchange, HTX looks to strengthen their digital asset security, streamline global compliance operations, and create a better virtual asset trading experience for their users.

Sygnum, a global digital asset banking group founded in Switzerland, is launching Sygnum Connect – their new, 24/7 instant settlement network for fiat, digital assets, and stablecoin transactions. Aimed at institutional investors, liquidity providers, stablecoin issuers, brokers, exchanges, and more, Sygnum Connect launches with connectivity to 200+ Sygnum institutional clients. Sygnum has tapped Fireblocks to provide the fiat settlement infrastructure for Connect.

Blockchain technology is making a significant impact in the payments sector. Some of the largest names in the industry are utilizing blockchain, including the likes of: As top-tier organizations like these continue to launch blockchain initiatives, it’s become clear that blockchain can facilitate the movement of value in the same way SWIFT, SEPA, and FedNow can, and can even be more efficient than traditional rails at times.

Your organization has identified a business and revenue opportunity to incorporate blockchain into your offering (or maybe launch a new product line that involves digital assets), and now you’re ready to implement this technology into a product offering. The question now is, “Where do we begin?” Ideally, your team will be working with partners and products that can easily fit into your existing tech stack and operational workflows.

The rise of cryptocurrencies has introduced a new frontier for criminals, presenting unique challenges for investigators. Unlike traditional financial transactions, cryptocurrency transactions are pseudonymous, meaning identities are obscured by cryptographic addresses. This, coupled with the decentralized nature of blockchain technology, necessitates specialized techniques and tools for digital forensics in the age of cryptocurrency.

The recent surge in phishing attacks capable of bypassing multi-factor authentication (MFA) has raised significant concerns in the cybersecurity landscape. These attacks highlight the fact that even systems protected by MFA have vulnerabilities, making it imperative for organizations to stay vigilant and not rely on a single control as a silver bullet. One such campaign, known as 0ktapus, provides a crucial case study in understanding the methods and impacts of these phishing attacks.