Crypto Industry Faces 785 Hacks and $19 Billion in Losses Over 13 Years

Crypto Industry Faces 785 Hacks and $19 Billion in Losses Over 13 Years

The cryptocurrency sector has experienced 785 reported hacks and exploits over the past 13 years, leading to nearly $19 billion worth of digital assets being stolen since the first known crypto hack on June 19, 2011. This data comes from a Crystal Intelligence report shared with Cointelegraph.

The most significant crypto theft to date is the 2019 Plus Token scam, where attackers made off with $2.9 billion in Bitcoin and Ether. More recently, in February 2024, a $290 million breach at PlayDapp marked the largest single crypto heist in the past two years. Concurrently, the JPEX investment scam in Hong Kong became the most substantial crypto fraud case, resulting in $194.3 million worth of stolen cryptocurrency.

Crypto hacks and exploits continue to pose a major challenge to mainstream acceptance and trust. The first quarter of 2024 alone saw $542.7 million in stolen funds, a 42% increase from the same period in 2023, suggesting that this year might surpass 2023 in terms of financial losses due to hacks.

Although 2023 recorded the highest number of crypto-related hacks, 2022 is still regarded as the “deadliest year by value,” according to Crystal Intelligence. In 2022, 286 exploits led to over $2.3 billion worth of stolen assets. However, the total value stolen in 2022 reached $4.2 billion, nearly double the amount lost in 2023, despite a 30% decrease in the number of incidents.

Crystal Intelligence notes that despite advancements in monitoring and reporting, illegal blockchain activity has continued to rise in 2023 and 2024. Specifically, 2023 saw 68 separate security breaches resulting in over $1 billion in stolen assets. In contrast, DeFi hacks, although more frequent with 112 incidents reported, resulted in $835 million in losses, indicating that while DeFi hacks occur more often, they tend to involve smaller sums per incident.

The largest DeFi hack in the past two years was the Euler Finance breach, which resulted in the theft of $197 million in Ether. Overall, the 10 largest DeFi hacks in 2023 and 2024 combined for nearly $579 million in stolen assets.