Since Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are anonymous property, whoever has a private key is the legitimate owner. Criminals are more eager to find a way to steal it from unsuspecting investors. When you hear about the theft of encrypted assets, it is not a computer hacker intrusion into blockchain applications or the cryptocurrency itself. In fact, the underlying blockchain application for cryptocurrencies is difficult to be attacked by hackers. Because hackers must destroy a large number of servers to collect information, hackers targeted digital services used by investors to trade, store and trade crypto assets attacked by hackers. So, what should we do if cryptocurrency is stolen? How to retrieve the stolen cryptocurrency? Next, let's have a look.

What if cryptocurrency is stolen?

Most customers will choose to put virtual currencies such as Bitcoin into the exchange account, which is known as the hot wallet. The exchange account is a centralized wallet, and the authority is in the hands of the exchange, not in the hands of customers. Once stolen, there is no way for customers to complain, and now the Chinese mainland has already completely banned virtual currency. Even if you are stolen, you will be recorded by the police to drink tea. After being banned, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies lack legal compensation, that is, the law will not ensure the security of your virtual currency assets.

In addition to stolen coins, the exchange often runs away from the small exchanges, especially the small exchanges. It is recommended not to go to the small exchanges, which will increase the risk of money collection. Try to choose three major exchanges: OK, Huo Coin and Qian An. In this way, even if currency theft occurs in the exchange, they also have an insurance fund system to compensate for your digital currency. In addition, you can also choose to make your own cold wallet. Generally speaking, cold wallet is to protect your "private key". The currency should be on the public chain, and the private key verifies your ownership and allocation rights. You can choose to make your own cold wallet. There are many home-made cold wallet tutorials on the Internet. You have all the rights of virtual currency in your hands.

How to recover the stolen cryptocurrency?

Maintaining the security of the private key is the guiding principle of the encryption community, which is reflected in this sentence: "If you do not master the private key, the money in your wallet will not belong to you completely." This principle means that if customers do not have their own private key, they will be difficult to really control their coins.

Both Ledger and Trezor wallets allow users to use a simple application and another hardware wallet to repair their browsing of wallets based on mnemonics. Users can find their wallet and funds on any other new Ledger wallet. Or, they can repair it in Trezor, SafePal or other hardware wallet devices.

If the hardware wallet is lost, stolen or damaged, customers can also ask the software wallet to browse their assets. If you lose Trezor, but still have repair seeds, you can repair your assets through many hardware wallets and software wallets in the market. The applicable software wallet directory includes Electrum, Exodus, MetaMask, Samourai, Wasabi, Spot and other platforms.

Most encryption wallets generally provide private keys in the form of mnemonics, which contain readable backups, allowing customers to repair private keys. The mnemonic mode is generally enabled according to BIP39, which is the most commonly used specification for generating seed statements for encrypted wallets.

BIP39 mnemonics, also known as seed sentences, are basically passwords composed of 12 or 24 random words to repair the cryptocurrency wallet. The encrypted wallet platform usually generates mnemonics at the beginning of wallet setting to indicate that customers write it on paper.

Common risks leading to loss of mnemonics

Because the security of mnemonics is the top priority to maintain the browsing of the encrypted wallet, people may want to know how to best protect the seed sentence.

Three key threats to BIP39 passwords: threats caused by customers themselves, natural or man-made disasters or theft of any kind.

The loss repair stage is very common: the wallet customer may lose it carelessly, or fail to understand its importance at the beginning of setting the wallet. Customers may also choose the wrong location to store their mnemonics. A common mistake is simply putting sentences online. Cryptowallet customers should never intelligentize their mnemonics to avoid such unfortunate events as hackers. It is particularly important for users to protect and repair phrases. It should be stored in a safe place and not be intelligentized - that is, don't put your words in an email or text file, and don't take photos. Therefore, most cryptowallets propose that their customers simply write the seed sentence on a piece of paper and store it in a safe place.

How to protect mnemonics?

In order to ensure the reliable protection of mnemonics, people may go further than just writing them on paper. Many of the more complex ways to protect seed statements also involve allocating backups between groups of people and locations, such as homes, bank safes, or secret locations in the garden. One is called Shamir Backup, which allows customers to distribute their private keys to multiple parts, which are used together to repair their wallets. Although the hardware wallet providers try their best to help people find their property and prevent them from losing their wallets, they are still helpless for losing mnemonics.

Speaking of this, I believe you have a certain understanding of what to do if the cryptocurrency is stolen and how to retrieve the stolen cryptocurrency. In general, the editor here also reminds investors that if they enter cryptocurrency, they must choose a reliable exchange and protect their private keys. In addition, risk analysis should be done well before investment, and do not blindly follow the trend.