During the first quarter of this year, the crypto industry faced losses of $336.3 million due to hacking, which is 23.1% lower compared to the previous year. A recent report by Immunefi revealed that crypto projects experienced over $321 million in losses from 46 hacks and 15 fraudulent incidents in the first three months of 2024.
Decentralized finance (defi) has been a primary target for hackers, contributing to 100% of losses in the crypto industry. Mitchell Amador, CEO of Immunefi, highlighted that defi platforms are vulnerable to private key compromises, leading to significant losses. He emphasized the importance of securing code and protocol infrastructure to prevent such incidents.
The number of hacker attacks decreased by 17.5% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. Ethereum (ETH) network was the most targeted, with 33 incidents, followed by the BNB Chain (BNB) blockchain with 14 attacks. Together, Ethereum and BNB Chain accounted for more than 73% of the total lost funds.
Some of the largest hacks during this period targeted the Orbit Bridge and Munchables web3 gaming platform, resulting in thefts of over $81 million and almost $63 million, respectively. PlayDapp and FixedFloat were also victims, losing $32 million and $26 million, respectively.
Hacking remains the most common method of crypto theft, contributing to 95.6% of total losses, while fraud accounts for only 4.4%. Analysts noted a 22.4% decrease in fraud cases over the past year. Despite hackers pulling out $19 million from crypto projects in 2023, the amount decreased to $14 million this year, with only 22% of the stolen funds being recovered.
Interestingly, the centralized finance (cefi) sector did not experience any losses in the first quarter of 2024, in contrast to the $1.8 million lost during the same period last year.
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