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Cryptocurrency theft escalated dramatically in the second
quarter, with losses from hacks and scams soaring by 112% to a staggering $572
million, the latest data revealed. This sharp increase followed a period of
decline, highlighting a troubling resurgence in malicious activities targeting
the crypto community, especially centralized exchanges.
Escalating Crypto Losses
Immunefi, an on-chain crowdsourced security platform,
reported that the total losses amounted to $572,688,861, marking a significant
rise from the $265,481,519 lost in the second quarter of last year. Centralized
exchanges were the main victims, reversing the previous trend of declining
losses.
The majority of the losses resulted from two major
incidents. DMM Bitcoin, a Japanese crypto exchange, suffered a colossal $305
million loss, while Turkey’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, BtcTurk, reported
a $55 million loss. These two events alone accounted for 62.8% of the total
losses in Q2.
Hacks continued to dominate as the primary cause of
crypto losses. Out of the total $572,688,861 lost, $564,238,811 resulted from
hacks across 53 incidents, representing a 155% increase compared to the same
period last year. Fraud, including scams and rug pulls, accounted for a smaller
portion, with $8,450,050 lost across 19 incidents. This represents an 81%
decrease from the same period of last year.
Centralized Finance (CeFi) platforms were the main
targets, suffering 70% of the total losses, while Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
platforms accounted for the remaining 30%. CeFi platforms experienced a
staggering 984% increase in losses, with $401,400,000 lost across five
incidents. In contrast, DeFi platforms saw a 25% decrease, with losses totaling
$171,288,861 across 62 incidents.
Most Targeted Blockchains
Among the most targeted blockchains, Ethereum and BNB
Chain were the most targeted blockchain networks in Q2 2024. Ethereum faced 34
incidents, representing 46.6% of the total losses, while BNB Chain witnessed 18
incidents, accounting for 24.7% of the losses. Other chains, such as Arbitrum,
Polygon, Solana, and Fantom, experienced fewer attacks but still contributed to
the overall losses.
Despite the high volume of losses, there were some
successes in recovering stolen funds. Approximately $26,736,000, or 5% of the
total losses, was recovered in Q2 2024, a slight improvement from the 3.9%
recovery rate in Q2 2023. This indicates progress in tracking and reclaiming
stolen assets, although challenges remain.
This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.
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