Victims have paid $144M in bitcoin as ransom over last six years, says FBI agent

Bitcoin • February 27, 2020, 8:45AM EST

Quick Take

Victims have paid over $144 million in bitcoin to ransomware hackers, according to an FBI agent
Ransomware family Ryuk caused the most damage, nearly $62 million
Majority of these ransomware proceeds went to crypto exchanges

A recent presentation from Joel DeCapua, a supervisory special agent at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has shown that victims have paid $144.35 million in bitcoin as ransom during 2013-2019.

DeCapua presented at the RSA cybersecurity conference earlier this week, saying that the “vast majority” of ransomware proceeds are paid in bitcoin.

Of all ransomware, Ryuk raised the most money at nearly $62 million, according to DeCapua. Crysis/Dharma and Bitpaymer followed Ryuk, raising over $24 million and $8 million, respectively.

DeCapua further said that the majority (nearly 64%) of these ransomware proceeds went to crypto exchanges, Mixers and merchant services also received a chunk of these proceeds.

DeCapua did not disclose the names of those crypto exchanges, except BTC-e.com as it no longer exists.

About Author

Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.