Crypto losses from fraud and hacks experienced a 12% decrease year-over-year, as indicated by a report released on May 30 by blockchain security firm Immunefi. The total amount lost in May was $52 million, compared to over $59 million in the same month last year. Furthermore, this figure represents a 28% decline compared to the losses incurred in April.
The report highlights a consistent trend of diminishing losses from hacks and fraud in the Web3 industry. In March, Immunefi published a report revealing that losses in Q1 2024 had decreased by 23% compared to the previous year. Additionally, in April, CertiK reported that it had witnessed the lowest losses ever for that month.
According to Immunefi’s May 30 report, the majority of the losses stemmed from two specific attacks. The first attack targeted the Web3 gaming protocol Gala Games, resulting in losses of approximately $21 million. The second attack involved a smart contract exploit against Sonne Finance, which led to $20 million in losses. Combined, these two attacks accounted for 78% of the total losses for the month.
Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain were the two networks that attracted the most attackers in May, with 62% of the attacks directed towards them. All of the attacks were aimed at decentralized protocols, and no centralized exchange experienced any loss of funds from an attack.
Fraud continued to constitute a small portion of the overall losses. Only $1.7 million, or 13.6% of the total losses, resulted from fraudulent activities, while the remaining losses were caused by hacks and exploits.
Immunefi’s report did not speculate on the reasons behind the decline in monetary losses from exploits. However, experts have suggested that advancements in security technology and law enforcement practices contributed to the decrease in losses observed in both 2023 and 2022.
In April, Blockaid claimed that its software had forced some crypto drainers to cease their operations, thereby reducing at least one type of threat faced by crypto users.