As a researcher who has been closely monitoring the crypto space for years now, I must say that this year’s surge in crypto hacks is alarming and disheartening. With my background in cybersecurity, I can attest to the fact that these incidents are not just isolated events but rather systematic problems that need immediate attention from both service providers and regulators.
As a crypto investor, I’ve witnessed an incredible surge in the adoption of digital currencies over the past few years. This boom has catapulted the industry to a staggering $2.09 trillion market cap and facilitates transactions worth billions daily. However, this growth isn’t just about numbers; it also encompasses a concerning trend – an increase in crypto hacks and scams each month. This unsettling rise casts doubt on the security measures of service providers and regulators alike.
Month after month, fresh instances of crypto fraud emerge across various regions, utilizing innovative technology and methods. Examples of such deceptions include pig-butchering schemes, rug pulls, and many more that have been increasingly surfacing. Just last week, the FBI managed to recoup five million dollars from these scams, but it’s estimated that billions more have vanished without any possibility of recovery.
Crypto Hacks Surged 15.5% From 2023 Looting $1.2 Billion
2023 saw a continuous string of frustrating crypto hacks affecting various exchanges, service providers, and individual wallets. Remarkably, the number of such incidents in 2024 has surpassed that of 2023 by 15.5%, with over $1.21 Billion already stolen this year.
Following a significant cyber attack on the Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX, which resulted in a staggering loss of $230 million, this incident was identified as the largest crypto heist of the year. Furthermore, recent investigations have uncovered that over $1.21 billion in digital assets were stolen through rug pull scams, impacting more than 154 victims.
2023 saw a staggering $1,048 billion loss due to hacks in August, but 2024 has outshone this figure with a significant increase of 15.5%. According to the Immunefi report, the most substantial security breach occurred in May, resulting in an approximate loss of $358 million. The second largest breach happened in July, with approximately $274 million stolen, and another significant loss of around $141 million took place in June.
August Had The Lowest Hacks
2019 has seen a spate of major thefts resulting in billions of dollars in losses, with the Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX being among them. Yet, surprisingly, statistics show a drop of 94% in such incidents when comparing August to previous months’ data.
In August of this year, just $15 million was taken, representing a staggering 94% decrease compared to the $274 million lost in July. If we compare it to August of next year, there’s a 38% reduction in losses. To put it into perspective, a total of $24,581,220 was lost in August of last year, while only $15,082,000 was stolen this August. Most notably, no crypto scams have been reported this month.
As an analyst, I’ve recently observed two significant incidents – the Ronin Network and the Nexera hack – both occurring within this month. The financial losses in these events amounted to approximately $9.8 million for Ronin and $1.5 million for Nexera. According to Mitchell Amador, founder of Immunefi, these unfortunate occurrences were a direct result of vulnerabilities that surfaced during the code upgrades.
In their analysis after the incident, it was made clear that they altered a specific section of the code following a review, emphasizing the crucial need for a secure mindset throughout the entire development process.
Over the past few incidents, cryptocurrency breaches were reported in VOW, Convergence Finance, and iVest DAO, resulting in losses of approximately $1.2 million, $210,000, and $170,000 respectively. It’s worth noting that the DeFi sector has experienced the most significant exploits this month, despite Centralized Finance (CeFi) being considered more vulnerable.
Final Thoughts
It appears that the Ethereum and BNB network have been hit hardest by the series of hacking incidents in August, resulting in a total market loss of approximately $15 million across five incidents involving Ronin, Nexera, VOW, Convergence Finance, and iVest DAO. In the grand scheme of things, these thefts account for a 15.5% increase in hacking events this year, resulting in the theft of over $1.21 billion worth of digital assets. Interestingly, August saw the least amount of loss compared to other months, with a significant decrease of 94% from the previous months’ totals.
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2024-08-31 15:34