About $927 million in digital currency has been stolen from different cryptocurrencies in the first three quarters of the year 2018. 

Unregulated cryptocurrency exchanges have been identified as a major source of criminal Bitcoin payments.

Direct payments are the funds that move from an identified criminal source to a cryptocurrency exchange.  Indirect payments move from cryptocurrency wallets to one or more sources before they are ultimately converted to fiat or cryptocurrency.

Whether about theft or laundering transactions, both of them happen by exploiting the known vulnerabilities of the cryptocurrency exchange.  Insider theft in the exchanges happens by compromises in passwords. When it comes to identifying the personalities and the whois information of those who are compromising on the ethics of decentralized transactions, the details of the opportunists are pretty identifiable. And, they land up somehow getting away with it.

The criminals know how to pass the identification system in complete ease. Hacks had sent the investors in emotional roller coasters when the exchange in which they invested was hacked. Swim swapping scams, malware, and ransomware alerted the regulators in almost every country, and each nation is coming up with their own terms about regulating the cryptocurrency.

There were some biggest cryptocurrency hacks that were never revealed. And regulators are probing into the working codes of companies involved in offering cryptocurrency-based transactions.  With increasing concerns about market risks, regulators frequently call for inquiries, and when the regulatory body finds out that the company is working without due authorization, they issue warnings with respect to the non-compliance and warn the prospective investors about investment scams.

Governments are willing to give the regulators more power to oversee the cryptocurrency market and to weigh the reliability of the prospectus and white paper declarations of the company.  The regulation also involves dealing with the trading infrastructure and setting regulatory standards for their functioning.

It is ultimately about ending the bad practice to enable the potentially exciting industry to spread as it should for the advantage it can deliver. There are countries like India who do not have the time for regulation, and they do not approve it either. There are countries like China who ban it.

Hardcore cryptocurrency enthusiasts regret only when a scam or hack happens.  They are ready to face the bear market because they believe in long-term trends. They are not concerned about the blood in the street now. Many of them are starting 2019 in complete optimism for the cryptocurrency market.