Crypto scammers make off with $1.9bn after surge in DeFi theft
Crypto hackers made off with $1.9bn in the first seven months of the year after a surge in funds stolen from decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols, according a top crypto analysis firm.
Losses arising from crypto hacks jumped 60 per cent on last year, up from $1.2bn, according to data from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis.
In a blog post today, the firm said the upward trend was likely to continue after two major hacks this month including the $190m hacking of cross-chain bridge Nomad and $5m hack of several Solana wallets in the first week of August.
The firm said DeFi protocols, many of which run on the Ethereum blockchain, had fallen victim to a hefty amount of scams this year.
“DeFi protocols are uniquely vulnerable to hacking, as their open source code can be studied ad nauseum by cybercriminals looking for exploits and it’s possible that protocols’ incentives to reach the market and grow quickly lead to lapses in security best practices,” Chainalysis said.
The firm estimates that so far this year, North Korea-affiliated groups have stolen approximately $1 billion of cryptocurrency from DeFi protocols.
The blockchain intelligence firm saw a sharp 65 per cent decline through July, in line with the slump in digital asset prices.
Total scam revenue in the year to July was $1.6bn, down 65 per cent from around $4.46bn in the same period last year.