Jesse James is one of the most popular characters of the Wild West era. He is described as one of America’s most successful bank robbers who eluded the authorities throughout his 15 year dominance. James is believed to have been shot dead by an unsatisfied gang member on 3rd April 1882. The traumatic actions of James and his gang caused the banks to sit up and improve their security at the time. This is similar to what we are experiencing in the crypto industry today where the actions of hackers have encouraged platforms to revolutionize their security setups. We can therefore say that crypto hackers are the modern day Jesse James’ of the world.

Jesse James and the Wild Wild West

Banks were relatively safe before the 18th century. Theft and robbery wasn’t so rampant and people could conveniently move cash in and out of banks without fear. Everything changed after the Civil War, with the rise of brutal gangs like that of Jesse James and the bushwackers. According to historians and scholars, James and his likes were inspired by insurgencies of ex-confederates of that era.

James and his gang operated against little to no resistance. On some occasions a chase would ensue, but more often than not they got away. In the end, the best option for the banks was to improve their banking security, and try to prevent the operation rather than relying on an afterchase. Stronger vaults, better equipped security personnel, and less cash handling were some of the measures that found their way into the banking system.

The security revolution that came up as a response to Jesse James and his gang continued through different eras. Robbers and thieves kept changing their methods of stealing from the banks, hence, the banks also continued to evolve in order to secure themselves. This evolution is what has resulted in the kind of banking systems that we have today.

The Wild Wild West of Cryptocurrencies

Comparing this evolution to the cryptocurrency industry, you will notice a very similar trend that qualifies crypto hackers are the modern day Jesse James’ of the world. The theft of crypto assets used to be a common occurrence just a few years ago. Exchange hacks were rampant and fruitless “chases” were also the order of the day, just like the days of Jesse James.

One of the properties celebrated by cryptocurrency users is the traceability of transactions, yet crypto asset thieves successfully made away with their loot. On several occasions, after Bitcoins and other crypto assets had been stolen, the transaction will be visible on the network, but the funds were rarely retrieved.

Looking back now, many see the past years as a learning curve necessary for the kind of crypto industry that is emerging. Today, you hardly hear of exchange hacks and crypto thieves. This is because, instead of waiting for the “afterchase” of thieves, many platforms have adopted procedures that prevent thefts from happening.

The major hacks in the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency circle occured on crypto exchanges. Hackers found ways of breaching or bypassing security systems back then. Today, implementations like KYC and 2FA authentication form the basic aspects of platform security.

The fact that tracing transactions can now go beyond just destination wallets is already a discouraging factor to potential thieves, who now know that they can be caught more easily. Also, stealing a user’s password is not enough in many cases, as a second layer of access in the form of 2FA is required in most cases today.

The Crypto Industry Has Learned Its Lessons

Beyond the periphery, crypto exchanges of today have adopted much stronger backend security infrastructure, some of which they do not disclose. This is in addition to the growing use of cold wallets in the storage of crypto assets. Experiences like the Quadriga and Bithumb hacks are some of the tough lessons that the industry has learned from, and users are more careful when it comes to securing their crypto wallets.

Jesse James terrorized his community during the Wild West era and forced the banking industry to grow into what we have today. Hackers have replicated this behaviour, and caused a non-negotiable evolution of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency ecosystem. That is why platforms like Vertex.Market have no choice but to employ the kind of top notch security systems that they operate today. Trading peer-to-peer also allows for less “hackability” as funds are not stored on a third party platform, instead they are transferred directly from one wallet to another.

We have had the era of Jesse James and the bushwackers who struck terror into the heart of banks, forcing them to react and eventually improve their systems. Hackers have handed out their fair portion of terror on the crypto industry, leading to the security innovations that we have seen lately. Perhaps, it is in order to say that crypto hackers are the modern day Jesse James’ of the world.