The latest data shows that cryptocurrency theft has sharply increased in the second quarter, with losses from hackers and scams soaring by 112% to a staggering $572 million. This rapid growth comes after a period of decline, highlighting the malicious activities targeting the cryptocurrency community, particularly the alarming resurgence of attacks on centralized exchanges.
Cryptocurrency losses continue to escalate
According to the on-chain bug bounty platform Immunefi, the total losses reached $572,688,861, a significant increase from $265,481,519 in the second quarter of last year. Centralized exchanges were the main victims, reversing the previous downward trend in losses.
Most of the losses were caused by two major incidents. The Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin suffered a massive loss of $305 million, while Turkey’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, BtcTurk, reported a loss of $55 million. These two incidents alone accounted for 62.8% of the total losses in the second quarter.
Hackers continue to be the primary cause of cryptocurrency losses. Out of the total losses of $572,688,861, $564,238,811 was attributed to 53 incidents of hacker attacks, representing a 155% increase compared to the same period last year. Fraud, including scams and rug pulls, accounted for a smaller proportion, resulting in losses of $8,450,050 in 19 incidents. This was an 81% decrease compared to the same period last year.
Centralized Finance (CeFi) platforms were the primary targets, accounting for 70% of the total losses, while decentralized finance (DeFi) accounted for the remaining 30%. The losses on CeFi platforms increased by an astonishing 984%, resulting in losses of $401,400,000 in five incidents. In contrast, DeFi platforms decreased by 25%, with total losses of $171,288,861 in 62 incidents.
Most targeted blockchains
In the most targeted blockchains of the second quarter of 2024, Ethereum and BNB Chain stood out as the most targeted blockchain networks. Ethereum faced 34 incidents, accounting for 46.6% of the total losses, while BNB Chain experienced 18 incidents, representing approximately 24.7% of the losses. Other chains, such as Arbitrum, Polygon, Solana, and Fantom, experienced fewer attacks but still resulted in overall losses.
Despite the significant losses, some success has been achieved in recovering stolen funds. Approximately $26,736,000 was recovered in the second quarter of 2024, accounting for 5% of the total losses, a slight improvement from the 3.9% recovery rate in the second quarter of 2023. This indicates progress in tracking and recovering stolen assets, but challenges still remain.