This year, many crypto hacks are from centralized exchanges due to increased trading volumes.
The crypto industry recorded a massive rise in stolen assets within the first seven months of 2024. With the increase in the price of various cryptocurrencies this year, the value of stolen tokens via hacks and ransomwares has risen to about $1.6 billion, doubling from last year’s value.
Crypto Theft Surges to $1.6 Billion
According to cybercrime researcher Chainalysis, crypto hack and theft rates have doubled within the past year. In the first seven months of 2023, amounts stolen via crypto were worth about $857 million. However, by the end of July 2024, it had risen by over 84% to $1.58 billion.
Notably, 40% of the stolen funds were bitcoins. As such, the rise in the amount of stolen assets can be traced to the upward movement in the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
As the researcher firm revealed, crypto hackers have switched from attacking DeFi protocols, which are less used for bitcoin trading, to targeting centralized crypto exchanges with higher trading volumes.
The most recent attack on centralized exchanges is the hack on India’s biggest exchange, WazirX, leading to the loss of $235 million in customer funds. The hacker breached one of the exchange’s safe multisig wallets, stealing various tokens. WazirX has paused withdrawal to trace and recover the stolen assets.
Notably, the rate of illicit activities on-chain has dropped by almost 20% within the past year, drawing down the overall rate of illegal transactions from $20.9 billion to $16.7 billion in 2024.
Reviewing the cybercrime rate, Chainalysis lead researcher believe more attacks will likely take place before the end of the year.
“If you just do a straight line out from where we’re at, you’re on track for somewhere in the $2 to $ 3 billion-plus range in terms of the total number of dollars stolen this year,” the researcher said.
A New Ransomware Record
In addition to the increased stolen assets, this year has been the worst year ever in crypto ransoms, recording $459.8 million paid by the end of June.
According to Chainalysis, approximately $75 million, paid to a group known as Dark Anges. This was almost a 96% YoY growth in the highest amount spent on ransom from the previous year.
