2024 sees nearly $1.4 billion in crypto thefts so far

Web3 security company Cyvers has reported that $1.38 billion has been stolen in crypto so far in 2024. This is way higher than last year’s, which was only $657 million.

And with months still left in the year, we just might see even bigger losses. It’s the cost of crypto markets surging.

Among the losses is the $308 million stolen from Japanese exchange DMM Bitcoin. The company called it an “unauthorized leak.” In particular, the Euler Finance and Mixin Network each lost $200 million.

BonqDAO had $120 million stolen, and Atomic Wallet lost $100 million to an unnamed Ukrainian hacker group.

The third quarter of 2023 was especially bad. More than $699 million was lost in 184 security incidents. The infamous Lazarus Group caused at least $291 million in losses. 

New hacking methods popped up in 2023, like collateral offboarding mistakes and Cloudflare key leaks. But familiar attacks like flash loans and social engineering also continued just fine.

The key leaks, though, cost the most losses during the entire year, according to Cyvers. Still. 2024 takes the cake. Meanwhile, in its own report, blockchain researcher TRM Labs, said in its own security report that:

“While we have not seen any fundamental changes in the security of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, we have seen a major increase in the value of various tokens – from Bitcoin to ETH and Solana – compared to the same time last year.”

Crypto prices have generally recovered from the lows hit in late 2022 after the downfall of SBF and Do Kwon. Bitcoin broke two all-time highs after its spot ETF was approved in the United States.

The Biden Administration has largely blamed Lazarus for crypto hacks and thefts. And the United Nations has accused North Korea of using these cyberattacks to fund its nuclear and missile programs.

But North Korea has vehemently denied the allegations of hacking and has stated that it has nothing to do with Lazarus.

Reporting by Jai Hamid