In the last 13 years, the cryptocurrency industry has been plagued by 785 reported hacks and exploits, resulting in the theft of nearly $19 billion worth of digital assets. The first known crypto hack was reported on June 19, 2011, marking the beginning of a series of cyber thefts in the industry, according to a report from Crystal Intelligence shared with Cointelegraph.
The largest single crypto theft case to date remains the 2019 Plus Token fraud, where attackers made off with $2.9 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). However, in February 2024, the $290 million security breach on PlayDapp surpassed this as the largest single crypto heist in the past two years.
On the other hand, the JPEX investment scam in Hong Kong emerged as the largest single crypto fraud scheme during this period, resulting in the theft of $194.3 million worth of crypto assets. These incidents have highlighted the ongoing risks and challenges facing the cryptocurrency industry, hindering mainstream trust and adoption.
The year 2024 is shaping up to potentially surpass 2023 in terms of crypto hacks, as the first quarter of 2024 alone saw $542.7 million worth of stolen funds, marking a 42% increase compared to the same period in 2023. Despite the higher number of reported hacks in 2023, the year 2022 still holds the title of the “deadliest year by value,” according to Crystal Intelligence.
In 2022, a total of 286 exploits led to the theft of over $2.3 billion worth of digital assets, while in 2023, the stolen digital assets amounted to $4.2 billion, nearly double the previous year. Despite this increase in value, the number of incidents decreased by 30%, with 199 hacks reported in 2022 compared to 286 in 2023.
The Crystal Intelligence report noted that despite improved monitoring and reporting mechanisms, illegal activities on the blockchain have continued to grow in 2023 and 2024, raising concerns about the security of digital assets in the cryptocurrency space.
In 2023, security breaches resulted in the theft of over $1 billion worth of digital assets in 68 separate incidents, surpassing the losses from decentralized finance (DeFi) hacks, which totaled $835 million. Although there were more DeFi hacks reported, totaling over 112 incidents, they generally resulted in smaller losses compared to security breaches.
The Euler Finance hack stood out as the largest single DeFi hack in the past two years, resulting in the theft of $197 million worth of Ether tokens. The top 10 DeFi hacks in 2023 and 2024 combined accounted for nearly $579 million in stolen assets, highlighting the vulnerabilities in the DeFi sector.
Overall, the cryptocurrency industry continues to face challenges from cyber thefts and fraudulent activities, prompting the need for enhanced security measures and vigilance among investors and users.