844,000 U.S. Dollars Return to the Energi Ecosystem
Centralized exchanges are some of the most untrustworthy components of the blockchain space. From fractional reserves to test deposits gone missing, there’s something to be said about maintaining possession of your private keys.
And while the exchanges themselves are sometimes shady, some of their users are even more nefarious — using exchanges as dumping grounds for ill-gotten gains.
So, how do these thieves operate? While their methods are many, the goal is the same: Siphon crypto from personal wallets to dump on exchanges.
And today, we’ll look at how a cybersecurity initiative from Energi Crypto not only thwarts thieves but also reunites coins with their rightful owners.
Criminals Beware
Imagine opening a personal crypto wallet only to find it empty. Your heart sinks into the pit of your stomach as you try to determine where your funds are hiding.
Trying to steal $NRG coins? You probably won’t get away with it.
But if cyberthieves chose to pinch your $NRG, your precious coins may find their way back to your account.
The Energi project uses its self-funding treasury model to hire professionals that help protect the chain from fraud. Not just chain monitors, but cybersecurity experts from the FBI, CIA, and more.
Stolen coins? Fraudsters will seek to dump them onto an exchange — potentially crashing the price for everyone.
But if the stars align, here’s how you can get those coins back:
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Immediately Report Loss to EBI
Energi’s investigative arm — the Energi Bureau of Investigations — is out to protect the community from bad actors. But the longer you wait, the more time the scammer has to sell your coins.
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Win a Masternode Vote
Decentralized governance is one of Energi’s core pillars. Every two weeks, Masternode operators vote on proposals to move the network forward. And if an Energi account sees blacklisting from involvement with a scam or hack, funds are frozen, and then it’s up to the Masternodes to vote on the account’s fate.
So, does anyone actually get their coins back? Why yes, yes, they do!
337k Coins Fly Home to Celebrate
Energi’s detectives have so far recovered over 337,000 NRG. While most projects are helpless against specific hacks, Energi has a proven history of thwarting thievery.
Case #1 is especially interesting because the amount is so massive. At today’s prices, those 174k coins total $434,000! The others are equally important and in every case, the victim is ecstatic about returned funds.
Theft of that size, if successful, is potentially life-changing. Not only does a scammer walk away with a fortune, but an investor loses enough to feel like a very sad Pepe.
How does Energi buy itself time to catch crooks red-handed? Easy: Increased confirmation requirements.
5k Confirmations
Before migrating to an Ethereum-based network, Energi deposits on exchanges required six confirmations — roughly five minutes to clear.
Five minutes isn’t much time to catch a thief! So, in a stroke of genius, Energi upped exchange confirmations to 5,000. If we assume the same timeframe as six confirmations, five thousand take 4,167 minutes — just shy of three days — to go through.
Waiting that long may be an inconvenience for a subset of traders, but giving victims as well as the investigative unit enough time to figure things out is worth the tradeoff.
Wrapping Up
Security is no joke at Energi. Not only do they have a highly trained cybersecurity department, but they treat cases as serious crimes while looking to bring perpetrators to justice.
In the cutthroat world of crypto trading and self-banking, it’s encouraging to see Energi take steps towards creating a clean environment in which users can freely transact.
Adding familiarity to new technology is a powerful method for garnering adoption. And Energi’s EBI allows the project to offer a free consumer protection service — coverage that’s welcome in and out of traditional finance.
