Topic: [2017-08-10]ShapeShift is Assisting Police to Trace Cashed Out Bitcoin (Read 6966 times)

While Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are somehow decentralized, there is no question that transactions are really not covered up and we can all trace the data from here to there and even vice versa, so to speak. ShapeShift has no choice but to cooperate or else they would be branded by the authorities as cooperative with the criminals. While some may feel uncomfortable with this cooperation, we must also understand that this incident is borne out of a criminal act.

I think that hackers will take any advantage that they can. Whether its bitcoin or some other altcoins If we are to go back, this so called malwares, like WannaCry started to surface when NSA exploit targeting Windows was released but no don't have any idea of the scale of the damage that would be caused by this vulnerability. So I think those hackers will exploit it time and again without regards which coins they want. Of course Monero will be a good choice but I think if you used exchanges there are still ways to tracked you down if the exchanges are keeping historical logs. (they said they are not, but I don't know if this is true). Monero is the most anonymous coin available today. But no the privacy is not perfect.

@1Referee. If hackers continue to use bitcoin they will be risking their coins in getting locked and confiscated just like what was described in the article. If they have learned from it and if they are smart, they would soon find out that Monero is the safer choice for their anonymity.

I definitely hope so. Don't get me wrong, in no circumstances should the tool be blamed for abuse by a bunch of tards, but at least it distracts whatever negativity there is away from Bitcoin. I however think they will continue to go with Bitcoin, because (1) Bitcoin is well known, and (2) it's peanuts to purchase them (in terms of how easy it is). Perhaps when altcoins gain more attention and usage globally, that there could be a shift in the sort of crypto that is being used for these illicit activities, but it will take years (if it's ever going to happen).

This news was released 3 days ago. The reason why the hackers used Shapeshift and Changelly was to trade their bitcoins to Monero. But the admins of both were very aware of the hacker's bitcoin addresses and have already blacklisted them.

This will be a lesson to all other ransomware hackers. Next time expect the hackers to use Monero for their ransomware.

I do not see how a company could help catch thieves and lawbreakers such as the ransomware developer without keeping logs of all the exchange activity of their customers. I understand the desire for privacy-- I like it as much as the next poster, but there has to be a place to draw the line when it comes to dealing with potentially illegal money, and I think that right now the exchange is a decent place to draw that line. The United States dollar was created by the American government and so they basically own the rules for handling it, forcing exchanges to keep records on their customers. While we may not like this, it is necessary to protect good citizens from the bad ones, but it may also bring other unwanted side effects such as the privacy issue.

Another problem is that once Bitcoin becomes even more popular, the need to exchange bitcoin for a more liquid currency such as the dollar or the euro will decrease substantially, which means the previously drawn line of records at exchanges is going to mean less as people can start living directly off hard-to-trace bitcoin. I can see many official entities not wanting to adopt bitcoin from simply the possibility of holding illicitly obtained funds. There really is no clear cut way to go about both privacy and safety in this case without resorting to an anarchic solution such as an "everyone for themselves" policy.

There is none of many exchanges which can get away from law enforcement agencies as long as the Govs cooperated with USA.
After what happen to BTC-E operator and bitmixer shut down, it should be a sign for other platforms to not deal with ill-gotten money.
Because bitcoin transactions always recorded on blockchain, there is no way those coins on ransomware could be cash out without any trace, even though through one or two mixer.

Just goes to show that ShapeShift are keeping logs of the addresses that are sending to their service and the addresses that they send to.

It's understandable, because the basis for their business is pretty strange anyway.  All proper altcoin exchanges require for you to register an account, and for larger amounts, to undergo verification.  The fact that they exchange to anonymous cryptocurrencies like Monero would make it extremely risky for them not to take logs.

It's possible that WannaCry will use a variety of different techniques to mix their coins, including maybe a mixer or two.

I am always against the many hacking and scams happening all around the internet. I have been a victim of phishing lately so I know how it felt to be a part of the victim statistic. There must be a way we can fight scammers and hackers without sacrificing privacy in the process. We should not be using decentralization as an excuse to just let go of these bastards.

This news about ShapeShift extending its hands of cooperation to authorities with the end view of tracing the coins and maybe return the coins to their rightful owners is something worth of praise and commendation.