Crypto crime is accelerating, and victims say the most painful part is how visible the theft can be.
Because blockchain transactions are publicly recorded, stolen funds can often be tracked as they move from wallet to wallet. But tracing the money does not necessarily identify the thief or lead to recovery, especially when criminals use anonymity tools, intermediaries, and rapid asset transfers across multiple addresses.
A UK case highlights the problem
In one recent case involving UK residents, a couple who had accumulated Cardano over several years discovered their holdings had been drained after attackers gained access to a cloud storage account. The storage contained information linked to their wallet access. After an initial test transfer, the criminals moved the remaining funds in a fast, quiet sequence and then began routing the assets through multiple wallets.
The victims were able to monitor the movement on-chain and gather reports from law enforcement and ecosystem sources, but despite having the destination wallet addresses, they were unable to identify the individuals behind the theft or reverse the transfers. They are now exploring private investigative options in the hope of uncovering the attackers’ identity through off-chain traces.
Why “traceable” does not mean “recoverable”
The situation reflects a core reality of crypto security: blockchains are transparent, but users can be difficult to tie to real-world identities. Criminals can further complicate investigations by splitting funds into many addresses, swapping assets across platforms, and using services designed to obscure transaction trails. Even when investigators can follow the money, enforcement often depends on exchanges, hosting providers, or other intermediaries being able to link activity to a person.
The bigger trend: theft volumes remain high
As crypto ownership has expanded, so has the attack surface. Survey data cited in the report suggests crypto ownership in the UK has reached millions of adults. Globally, crypto ownership is estimated in the hundreds of millions. Alongside that growth, theft has remained a persistent and large-scale issue in recent years. Investigators at blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis estimated that 2025 theft totals exceeded $3.4 billion, continuing a pattern of multi-billion-dollar annual losses since 2020.
The security lesson
The case also underlines a recurring weakness exploited by thieves: compromised credentials and insecure key storage. Criminals do not always “hack the blockchain.” More often, they target the user, gaining access through cloud accounts, phishing, malware, SIM swaps, or leaked passwords, and then using the stolen information to authorize transfers that cannot be reversed.
For victims, the experience can feel uniquely brutal, the funds are gone, the trail is visible, and the path to accountability remains uncertain.
