Binance Recovers $73M from Crypto Hacks and Scams

Binance has successfully managed to recover or freeze over $73 million in funds stolen during crypto hacks and scams.

In an August 8 press release, Binance disclosed that these recovered or frozen funds pertain to external hacks that occurred across the crypto market by July 31, 2024. Approximately 80% of the funds are from external hacks, thefts, and exploits, while 20% are from crypto scams.

According to Binance, the total of $73 million by July 31 this year exceeds the $55 million that the crypto exchange’s security team recovered throughout 2023.

“This achievement underscores our unwavering dedication to protecting not just our users, but also enhancing the overall security of the cryptocurrency ecosystem,” said Jimmy Su, chief security officer at Binance.

Su further commented, “Market growth and volatility, as observed in recent months, often bring an influx of new investors who may be more susceptible to scams and hacks, and elevated prices during these periods can result in larger monetary losses.”

Binance’s proactive efforts have enabled the exchange to secure a significant amount of funds stolen across various incidents in the first seven months of the year.

However, according to blockchain security firm Immunefi, the cryptocurrency industry experienced 72 incidents of blackhat hacks, fraud, rug pulls, and other exploits in the second quarter of 2024. Total losses reached over $572 million during the quarter alone, with most of this—$564 million across 53 incidents—related to hacks. Most of the funds were stolen in two of the largest hacking incidents—the $305 million hack of Japanese crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin and the $55 million hack of Turkey-based crypto exchange BtcTurk.

Notably, the Immunefi report did not include the $230 million hack on India-based WarizX, which occurred in July. Blockchain security firm Peckshield disclosed on August 1 that including the WazirX hack, crypto platforms and the DeFi space lost over $266 million.

A Chainalysis report on crypto crime recently highlighted that total funds stolen across the market in 2023 dropped to $24.2 billion, compared to $39.6 billion in 2022.

Meanwhile, crypto exchange Bitget released a report suggesting that artificial intelligence could see deepfakes account for 70% of crypto crimes in the next two years.

For more updates on cryptocurrency security and market trends, stay tuned to Global Crypto News.