Crypto hacks drained $19B in 13 years according to crystal intelligence

According to a recent report, the crypto industry lost a whopping $19 billion to hackers over the past decade. This was the result of only 785 reported attacks in 13 years.

The 785 recorded incidents comprised 345 hacks of decentralized protocols, 220 cases of fraud, and 220 security breaches. 2011 saw the first reported hack.

2022 was the deadliest year for crypto

Published by Crystal Intelligence, the report says 2019 saw the largest attack. $2.9 billion was wiped out in the Plus Token Ponzi scheme. A bogus crypto wallet app that promised users superficial returns on investments.

2022 was the costliest year for the industry, recording 199 incidents. The report labelled it as the “deadliest year by value.” $4.2 billion worth of assets were wiped out from the market.

In contrast, 2023 recorded 30% more hacks, but the 286 exploits netted just over $2.3 billion worth of assets.

Over the past two years, the $290 million lost in the PlayDapp breach was the single largest. A private key leak, flagged on Feb. 9, resulted in billions of PLA tokens stolen.

The attack lasted till Feb. 13, with a ​​$1 million bounty to the attacker for returning the assets.

Another notable incident in the same period resulted in $194.3 million worth of crypto assets stolen. This was the JPEX investment scam plaguing Hong Kong in late 2023.

Centralised platforms lost more

One interesting factor highlighted by the report was the contrast in the size of hacks between the centralised space and their decentralised counterparts.

While 68 separate security breaches in 2023 netted $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency assets, the decentralised finance (DeFi) space saw only $835 million of stolen cryptocurrency.

That is despite the number of hacks in the DeFi space standing close to double at 112. The top 10 largest hacks in this space accounted for approximately $579 million.

The largest single DeFi hack over the past two years was the Euler Finance hack. $197 million in Ether tokens were lost due to a flash loan attack.

Earlier, a report from blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis revealed that in 2023, bad actors had started funnelling stolen funds through the decentralised space.

The firm recorded almost 75% of funds stolen in 2023 being directed towards defi platforms. On the other hand, 2020 saw over 90% of illicit funds being funnelled through centralised platforms.  

Researchers at Crystal Intelligence have warned that “illegal activity” in the crypto sector continued to grow “even with improved and enhanced monitoring and reporting mechanisms.”

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