According to a research report by blockchain security firm Immunefi, over $200 million worth of cryptocurrency has been lost to hacks and rug pulls in the year 2024 so far. This represents a 15.4% increase compared to the same period in 2023, when $173 million of digital assets were stolen.
In the month of February, there were 12 specific hack and fraud incidents resulting in the theft of over $67 million worth of crypto. This is a significant decrease of nearly 50% compared to January, which recorded $133 million worth of stolen crypto.
The majority of the stolen funds this year, amounting to $32.3 million, were lost during a cyberattack on PlayDapp, a crypto gaming platform. Decentralized crypto exchange FixedFloat experienced the second-largest theft, with $26.1 million stolen. Interestingly, decentralized finance (DeFi) was the main target for exploits in February, while centralized finance protocols did not witness a single major attack during the month.
Hacks accounted for over $65 million (97.54%) of the stolen funds in February across 10 individual incidents, while there were two fraud cases totaling $1.65 million, or 2.46% of the stolen value.
In terms of targeted networks, Ethereum was the most targeted network for hackers in February, followed by Binance’s BNB Chain and the Bitcoin network. Ethereum suffered 12 individual attacks, accounting for over 85% of the total value lost so far this year. The Bitcoin network and the BNB Chain each suffered one incident.
Hacks and exploits have become a growing concern in the crypto industry, particularly for DeFi applications. In 2023, a total of $1.8 billion was lost to crypto hacks and scammers, with 17% of that attributed to the North Korean Lazarus Group, according to a report by Immunefi.
The biggest attack in 2023 was on peer-to-peer trading platform Mixin Network, resulting in over $200 million of losses. This was followed by a $197 million hack on the Euler Finance lending platform and a $126 million hack on the cross-chain bridge protocol Multichain.
Relatedly, the US government moved $922 million of seized Bitcoin after the BTC price broke $60,000.