Hacked Bitcoin Exchange Funds Move with Cryptic Message

The money transferred between the hacked TradeOgre exchange reflects a cryptic message that connects the RCMP. Millions of BTC and ETH transfers following months are out of commission.

One of the largest cascades of Bitcoin and Ethereum funds stolen at the TradeOgre exchange was allegedly initiated recently. The cryptocurrency economy followed closely when these monies were tagged with an enigmatic message on-chain

The message categorically purported to seize the assets by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Canada.

TradeOgre is a non-KYC custodial exchange, which is currently offline and popular with users of privacy coins, such as Monero

Its absence was initially reported to the users at the end of July, as access to the sites and external communication was stopped. Funds started to flow out of TradeOgre addresses after many months of silence.

Baffling Postcard Raises Concerns.

September 10th, an exchange funded with a non-custodial exchange ChangeNow included the following message: Crypto assets controlled by the RCMP Cryptoactifs controls par la GRC.

The message mentions the national police of Canada, which increases the level of interest regarding the origin of the flow of funds.

Arkhm Intelligence followed hundreds of bitcoins into an address associated with this message. In approximately four hours, more than 126 BTC, which are worth almost 15 million dollars, moved.

At the same time, Ethereum balances of TradeOgre started to empty, and the operations were associated with the same Ethereum-based RCMP assertion. These drain events were worth about 17 million Ethereum.

Unpacking the Controversy Around TradeOgre

TradeOgre was run without any financial regulator and allowed one to register with a bare minimum verification, just an email address

This non-KYC strategy allowed it to become a popular place among crypto traders who care about their privacy and are not on many regulatory watchlists.

It is speculated that these movements may be a government takeover, but others caution that the message may be a sarcastic humour or a lavish exit hoax

In an actual sense, such a seizure would put customers in an even worse position, since custodial exchange funds are customer property, not operator property.

The legal analysts have pointed out that TradeOgre has been questioned on its dubious operations, which have raised doubts about its connection with illegal financial dealings

TradeOgre users have had their money frozen or lost on millions of dollars worth of the platform, which is making people even more suspicious of it since its unannounced closure.

Such an enigmatic message and the large flow of funds bring very serious concerns. Is it a government conspiracy, a smokescreen of a hacker, or a joke within a joke?

Since there is more information to emerge, the stakes are still high for victims and crypto watchers.