Top cryptocurrency scams of 2019 — and how most hackers got away with it

• This year cyber criminals were able to siphon away $4.26 billion from cryptocurrency users and exchanges.
• One of the biggest scams was the hacking of BITPoint, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, who lost $30 million.
• Hackers are also suspected to be behind the Kraken Bitcoin Flash Crash though the perpetrators are still at large.

2019 has been a big year for fraudsters and cyber criminals. Stealing from cryptocurrency exchanges and the misappropriation of funds has led to a total loss of $4.26 billion this year, according to a report by CipherTrace.

Like any heist, pulling off a successful scam in only part of the story. A truly successful cryptocurrency hack is when the thieves can steal the money and also make a clean getaway.

That means stealing cryptocurrency from unsuspecting users, avoiding the long arm of law enforcement, laundering that money and finding an exit so that the hackers can actually spend it in the real world.

But, that’s not how it always plays out.

Here are some of the biggest cryptocurrency scams on 2019: