Crypto Thefts Decline by 27.78% in 2023, Recovery Rates Rise: PeckShield Report
Summary:
According to blockchain security firm PeckShield, cyber thefts amounted to $2.61 billion losses in 2023, a decrease of 27.78% compared to 2022. They also reported recovery of $674 million from these thefts, due to active negotiations with hackers and bug bounty programs. Crime trends showed 40% of attacks involved flash loans and that DeFi remained a primary target for thefts, with 67% losses linked to it while 33% linked to centralized finance. Hacks contributed to 58% of the losses and scams to 42%. A shift in illicit trading volume was seen from Bitcoin dominating between 2018-2021 to stablecoins in 2022 and 2023.
In fresh data released by PeckShield, a blockchain security company, global cyber thefts through scams and hacks in the year 2023 accounted for losses worth $2.61 billion, a figure that does not include multichain losses. This figure, announced on January 29th, indicated a decrease of 27.78% from 2022, where the total losses stood around $3.6 billion. Over the calendar year, 600+ large-scale hacks in the crypto market resulted in these losses, of which, funds worth $674.9 million were reclaimed.
PeckShield also shed light on the recovery of nearly $674 million from the large-scale hackings that they keenly observed, an amount that represented 25% of the stolen cryptocurrency. Amid conversations with Cointelegraph, the PeckShield group pointed out the stark rise in the recovery figures in comparison to the $133 million recovered in 2022. The prominent security team attributed this development largely to proactive negotiations with hackers and the introduction of bug bounty programs.
These initiatives have played an instrumental role in elevating the level of regard for security, and has also led to the identification of hackers and potential system vulnerabilities. PeckShield strongly emphasized the idea of teaming up with Tether, Centralized Exchanges (CEXs) and, law enforcement authorities to maximize the chances of recovering the stolen amounts. They recommended that the concerned authorities should freeze the stolen funds as soon as they're discovered.
Having said that, the findings showed that cryptocurrency theft last year involved 40% flash loan attacks. Besides, discussions that revolve around enhanced DeFi security lowering theft instances were contradicted by PeckShield's assertion of DeFi remaining a primary target for scams and hackings. Equally notable observations in the blockchain sphere, according to CertiK co-founder Ronghui Gu, was the notable growth of bounty platforms and proactive security steps, suggesting a "positive development" in 2023.
However, 67% of the losses incurred last year were classified under DeFi, while 33% were under centralized finance. Furthermore, scams accounted for 42% of the total losses, while hacks were responsible for 58%. An interesting trend to note, was that while Bitcoin (BTC) used to lead the illicit trading volume from 2018-2021, the fresh data from 2022 and 2023 saw stablecoins taking over a larger proportion of illegal transaction volume.
Published At
1/29/2024 2:10:33 PM
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