Cryptocurrency users lost nearly $2 billion to scams, rug pulls and hacks in 2023, roughly half the amount of last year, but a sign that the industry remains susceptible to security risks, researchers at security app De.Fi said in their annual report on Wednesday. The reduction, largely attributed to the implementation of improved security protocols, increased awareness within the community and the overall decreased activity in the market, is even greater when the $40 billion lost to the collapses of stablecoin issuer Terraform Labs, crypto lender Celsius and the FTX exchange are taken into account. The drop coincides with a bear market in which some major alternative tokens slumped as much as 85% from their 2021 peaks before recovering in the past few months as conditions turned more bullish. Additionally, the recovery rate of funds improved significantly to around 10%, up from just 2% in 2022, De.Fi said. Ethereum, the biggest blockchain by active users and value locked, experienced the highest losses, with about $1.35 billion erased in an estimated 170 incidents. This figure is indicative of Ethereum’s appeal to malicious actors due to its extensive ecosystem and high-profile projects. The largest exploit was July’s $230 million attack on the cross-chain platform Multichain. BNB Chain also proved an attractive target, with $110.12 million lost across 213 incidents. Emerging network zkSync Era lost $5.2 million in two incidents and Solana had a loss of $1 million in a single attack. Losses on centralized platforms, such as exchanges and trading platforms, totaled some $256 million across seven cases. The largest, November’s attack on Poloniex, netted $122 million.
Full report : Cryptocurrency Users Lost $2 Billion to Hacks, Scams and Exploits in 2023.
While these are the largest cryptocurrency hacks that have happened in 2023, OODA has been compiling a comprehensive Web3 incident database since the rise of cryptocurrencies based on our research to categorize what compromises are taking place as well as document the root causes that plague Cryptos, DeFi, NFTs, and Web3 in general. Tracking root causes provides comprehensive insights into how innovators can create robust cyber risk management approaches and reduce the potential for consequential attacks. You can access the OODA comprehensive Crypto Incident tracker here.
