News
Cryptocurrency hacks have wiped out nearly $20 billion from the industry, Crystal Intelligence estimates
While 2023 saw the highest number of cryptocurrency thefts each year, 2022 remains the costliest year in terms of value, with 199 incidents totaling nearly $42 billion, according to Crystal Intelligence.
Cryptocurrency-related scams and hacks have left the industry without nearly $19 billion in assets, with the United States recording the highest number of incidents, according to Crystal Intelligence data shared with crypto.news.
“Perhaps the most striking aspect of the development of now-adolescent crypto crime that Crystal has observed is the speed with which new criminal typologies emerge, new technologies and law enforcement techniques are deployed to combat them, and the process recycles itself .”
Crystalline Intelligence
The report indicates that nearly 200 thefts worth $9.7 billion targeted 55 countries around the world, with the United States recording stolen cryptocurrency funds worth nearly $984 million, followed from Hong Kong with 15 incidents worth just under $1.2 billion.
Cryptocurrency thefts by countries | Source: Crystalline Intelligence
Since 2011, the industry has recorded approximately 785 cases of cryptocurrency theft, including 220 security breaches, 345 decentralized protocol attacks, and 220 scams, with the total amount stolen reaching $19 billion. However, the report notes that the data is based only on reported losses, suggesting that the true scale of unreported incidents could be much larger.
In mid-May, blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis revealed that in 2023, nearly 75% of funds stolen via crypto drainers were channeled into decentralized finance, in stark contrast to 2020, where more than 90% ended up on centralized exchanges. The true extent of the phishing activity remains unclear, Chainalysis acknowledged, citing the difficulty in tracking the total amounts stolen from drainers “given that many cryptocurrency drainer scams go unreported.”