Key Points:
– Crypto hacks have resulted in a total of $19 billion being stolen over the past 13 years.
– 2022 was the most damaging year, with $4.2 billion taken in 199 hacks.
– DeFi hacks saw $579 million stolen between 2023 and 2024.
A staggering $19 billion in digital assets has been pilfered in 785 reported crypto hacks and exploits over the last 13 years, as revealed by a report from EU-based crypto compliance firm Crystal Intelligence.
The Most Notorious Crypto Thefts
Although the crypto sector has faced numerous security breaches, some have been particularly devastating. For example, the 2019 Plus Token scam remains the largest crypto theft case to date, with thieves making off with $2.9 billion in Bitcoin and Ether. More recently, in February 2024, the $290 million breach on PlayDapp became the biggest crypto heist in the past two years.
Crypto thefts and scams aren’t the only concerns – fraudulent schemes have also made a significant impact. The JPEX investment scam in Hong Kong is the largest crypto fraud scheme in the last two years, resulting in $194.3 million in stolen digital assets.
As the first quarter of 2024 came to a close, $542.7 million worth of digital assets had already been stolen, marking a 42% increase compared to the same period in 2023. This suggests that 2024 may see even higher crypto theft figures than the previous year.
The Rise of DeFi Hacks
In 2023 alone, there were nearly 112 DeFi hacks, resulting in $835 million in cryptocurrency losses. Security breaches, on the other hand, were even more costly, with 68 incidents leading to over $1 billion in stolen digital assets during the same year. This indicates that while DeFi hacks are less financially damaging, they occur more frequently.
The Euler Finance hack was the largest single DeFi hack in 2023 and 2024, stealing $197 million in Ether tokens. This incident highlights the increasing threat of cybercrime targeting DeFi platforms. In total, the top 10 DeFi hacks in 2023 and 2024 accounted for $579 million in stolen digital assets.