For another year, hackers stole billions of dollars in crypto. But for the first time since 2020, the trend is down, according to crypto security firms.
This year, hackers stole about $2 billion in crypto in dozens of cyberattacks and thefts, according to De.FI, the web3 security firm that runs the REKT database. The site ranks the worst crypto breaches ever, from the Ronin Network breach in 2022, where hackers stole more than $600 million in crypto in what is believed to be the largest incident in history, to the hack against the Mixin Network this year, which netted the hackers about $200 million.
“This amount, although scattered across various incidents, highlights persistent vulnerabilities and challenges within the DeFi ecosystem,” De.Fi wrote in its report, which the company shared with TechCrunch. “2023 stood as a testament to both the continued vulnerabilities and the steps taken to address them, even though interest in the space was relatively subdued due to the ongoing bear market in the first half of the year.”
Earlier in December, blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs also published an estimate of the amount of stolen cryptocurrencies by hackers this year. According to the company, the total as of mid-December was about $1.7 billion.
Other worst crypto heists of the year include the hack against Euler Finance, in which hackers stole nearly $200 million. as well as major hacks against Multichain ($126 million), BonqDAO ($120 million), Poloniex ($114 million), and Atomic Wallet ($100 million), among hundreds of others.
Last year, blockchain tracking company Chainalysis reported that cybercriminals had stolen an all-time record of around $3.8 billion in crypto. Of that, $1.7 billion was stolen by North Korean government hackers known as the Lazarus Group, one of the most prolific groups of crypto thieves, as part of an effort to fund the regime’s sanctioned nuclear weapons program.
“It is not a stretch to say that the cryptocurrency invasion is an important part of the country’s economy,” Chainalysis said in its report last year.
Last year, hackers stole $3.3 billion in 2021, according to Chainalysis,
It is impossible to predict what will happen in 2024. But given the poor security implemented by many crypto and web3 projects and the huge amount of monetary value they hold as discussed earlier this year at TechCrunch Disruptwe can expect hackers to continue to target the growing industry.
Correction: Modified reference to REKT Database in second paragraph.
