Blockchain
Cryptocurrency Thefts to Double by 2023
By mid-2023, hackers had stolen $657 million in cryptocurrency.
A year later, that figure was more than doubled at $1.38 billion, blockchain data company TRM Labs states in a report released Friday (July 5).
“Similar to 2023, a small number of large attacks accounted for the lion’s share of the haul: the top five hacks and exploits accounted for 70% of the total amount stolen so far this year,” TRM said. “Private key and seed phrase compromises remain a major attack vector in 2024, alongside smart contract exploits and flash loan attacks.”
The largest attack so far this year occurred in May at the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoinwith the theft of over 4,500 coins worth over $300 million.
“While the exact cause of the attack remains unknown, potential vectors include stolen private keys or address poisoning, a tactic in which attackers send small amounts of cryptocurrency to the victim’s wallet to create false transaction histories, potentially tricking users into sending funds to the wrong address in future transactions,” TRM said.
According to the report, more money was stolen in the first half of this year than in the first six months of 2023, with the median hack being 150% larger. However, thefts by hackers are a third below the first six months of 2022, which “remains a record year,” the company said.
A 2023 report from Chainalysis found that hackers stole $3.8 billion in 2022, up from $3.3 billion in 2021 and $500 million in both 2020 and 2019.
The findings come as the crypto space is “at a critical juncture,” as PYMNTS wrote earlier this week.
“This is the same critical juncture, or at least a strikingly similar one, that the cryptocurrency and digital asset industry has always found itself in, one where regulatory developments, interoperability and scalability, and institutional acceptance are at the forefront,” the report said. “That’s because regulation, usability, and acceptance are the three key themes and trends that observers believe will shape the future of Web3, a future that has been in the works for more than a decade.”
When it comes to scalability, PYMNTS Intelligence research shows that using encryption for cross-border payments It could be the winning use case the industry has been looking for.
The research found that cross-border blockchain solutions, particularly stablecoins, are increasingly being adopted by companies looking for a better way to transact and expand internationally. For example, Solana The network processed $1.4 trillion in cross-border stablecoin payments in March alone, demonstrating the technology’s scalability.