Cryptocurrency Sector Incurs Over 573 Million in Losses Due to Increased Hacks and Scams in Second Quarter
The crypto sphere faced a stormy second quarter in 2024, with a staggering $572.7 million vanishing in 72 separate hacking and scamming events, as reported by Immunefi’s quarterly analysis. This figure represents a significant surge of 70.3% from the previous quarter’s losses of $336.3 million, and nearly doubles the $265.5 million lost in a single quarter in 2023.
**CeFi and DeFi Platforms Under Siege**
Traditionally, DeFi platforms, which typically hold close to $100 billion in value, have been prime targets for cybercriminals. However, this quarter marked a shift, with CeFi platforms bearing the brunt of the attacks. CeFi losses totaled $401.4 million, accounting for 70% of the total, while DeFi platforms lost $171.3 million.
**Notable Incidents of the Quarter**
This quarter’s losses were largely due to two significant breaches totaling $360 million, or 62.8% of the overall losses. The most substantial was a $305 million hack of the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin, followed by a $55 million theft from the Turkish exchange BtcTurk on June 23rd.
**A Month of Record Losses**
May 2024 saw unprecedented losses of $358.5 million, the highest for any month this quarter. Of the total $571.93 million stolen over these three months, only 5% ($28.7 million) was recovered. This recovery rate was consistent across various hacking incidents involving entities such as Bloom, ALEX Lab, Gala Games, and YOLO Games.
**Hacks Dominate, Blockchain Networks Targeted**
Hacking was the primary cause of the quarter’s financial hemorrhage, with $564.2 million lost in 53 incidents, making up 98.5% of all losses. Scams were minimal, accounting for only 1.5% or $8.5 million. Ethereum and BNB Chain were the most compromised networks, with 34 incidents on Ethereum resulting in 46.6% of the total losses, and BNB Chain following with 18 incidents and 24.7% of the losses. Other affected networks included Arbitrum, Blast, Optimism, Solana, Polygon, Fantom, Linea, Mantle, and TON.
**Yearly Comparison and the Rising Tide of Crypto Losses**
The report highlighted a year-over-year escalation in crypto losses, a trend that underscores the increasing pace and sophistication of cybercrime in the digital currency domain. Losses due to hacks and scams soared by 112% compared to the previous year, with the cumulative loss from thefts, scams, and hacks since January 2018 now standing at $920.9 million—a 24% increase from $702.9 million in 2023.
Mitchell Amador, CEO of Immunefi, pointed out that some of the most severe losses stemmed from single infrastructural breaches. He noted that in Q2, CeFi infrastructure suffered more from hacking incidents, leading to greater financial damage than DeFi, despite fewer attacks.
**Further Reading:**
– Surge in High-Profile Twitter Account Hacks Linked to New Crypto Scams
**Tags:** Hack