They've also become an accepted risk of trading in crypto: Gone are the days when a devastating hack like the one that brought down Mt. Gox back in 2014 have had serious repercussions for the entire crypto market.

But that hasn't deterred firms like Chainalysis, the respected crypto forensics firm that has reportedly helped the FBI and other US law enforcement agencies track illicit activity and bust money launderers using crypto, from exploring the methods used by hackers to conceal the provenance of stolen coins on a system that touts transparency as one of its biggest selling points.

During the course of its research, Chainalysis happened upon a surprising finding: Just as there are "whales" who hold concentrated portions of crypto wealth, so there are whale-like hackers who are responsible for much of the thievery that has plagued the eco-system. According to a Wall Street Journal summary of Chainalysis' findings, two groups of highly sophisticated criminals appear to have stolen some $1 billion in cryptocurrency, an amount that accounts for the majority of the money lost to hackers. Some $1.7 billion in crypto has been reported stolen over the years, mainly from exchanges (Mt. Gox and Bitfinex being two of the most infamous hacks).