Crypto Thefts Surge in 2024, Exceeding $200m with DeFi Platforms Most Vulnerable
Summary:
The year 2024 has seen cryptocurrency thefts amount to over $200 million across 32 incidents, according to a study by Immunefi. The soaring losses signify a 15.4% increase from the initial two months of the preceding year. Ethereum was the prime target for hackers. DeFi platforms were the major victims, while centralized finance procedures remained relatively unaffected. This escalation in crypto hacks, with a special focus on DeFi platforms, contributed to a staggering loss of $1.8 billion in 2023.
Cryptocurrency thefts and scams in 2024 have resulted in losses exceeding $200 million across 32 separate instances, as disclosed in a study by blockchain protection company, Immunefi, dated February 29. This loss signifies a 15.4% increase in comparison to the initial two months of 2023, a period during which digital assets worth $173 million were purloined. In February alone, cryptocurrency thefts amounted to more than $67 million, spread over 12 explicit incidents. While this figure denotes a near 50% decrease from January's recorded theft of $133 million.
The brunt of this year's theft — about $32.3 million — was a consequence of a cyber invasion on PlayDapp, a gaming platform leveraging cryptocurrency. The second-largest pilferage, amounting to $26.1 million, was borne by FixedFloat, a decentralized cryptocurrency trade. In February, decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms were the principal targets, with no significant breaches reported among centralized finance methodologies.
Scams and thefts resulted in losses exceeding $65 million, 97.54% of the total in February across ten separate incidents. The month saw two fraud incidents totaling $1.65 million, accounting for 2.46% of the stolen amount.
Hackers primarily focused on the Ethereum network in February, followed by the BNB Chain of Binance and the Bitcoin network. The Ethereum network suffered the most, accounting for over 85% of total losses, with 12 individual instances of hacking. Both the Bitcoin and the BNB Chain experienced a single disruptive event each.
Crypto industry's growing concerns revolve around increasing hacking and exploit attempts, especially on DeFi platforms. The year 2023 saw a staggering $1.8 billion siphoned off by hackers and fraudulent activities, 17% of which was attributed to the North Korean Lazarus Group, as per an Immunefi report from December 28.
The Mixin Network, a peer-to-peer trading platform, was the hardest hit in 2023, with a loss exceeding $200 million. The Euler Finance lending platform followed closely with a $197 million heist, while the third largest, a $126 million theft, impacted the Multichain cross-chain bridge protocol.
Related: A Bitcoin stash worth $922 million was relocated by the US government after the Bitcoin price surpassed $60,000.
Published At
2/29/2024 5:00:00 PM
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