Crypto Hack Epidemic: More Than 500 Million Dollars Lost in the First Quarter of 2024

Crypto News– The initial three months of 2024 posed significant challenges for the digital currency industry. Cybercriminals managed to exploit vulnerabilities, resulting in a staggering $502.52 million being siphoned off through 223 on-chain security breaches.

Crypto Hack Epidemic: More Than 500 Million Dollars Lost in the First Quarter of 2024

This amount reflects a 54% surge compared to the corresponding period in 2023, during which losses amounted to $326 million. Despite a slight decrease from the $522 million lost in the final quarter of 2023, the figures remain alarmingly high.

How Hackers Managed to Access Users’ Cryptocurrency Funds

In January alone, according to CertiK’s The Web3 Security Quarterly Report, malicious actors managed to abscond with $193.1 million across 78 incidents. February and March witnessed similar patterns, with losses of $160.4 million and $149 million, respectively, stemming from various security breaches.

The predominant method utilized by hackers was private key compromises, responsible for nearly half of the total financial losses. Despite occurring in only 26 incidents, the impact of these breaches was substantial.

Moreover, scammers deployed a range of tactics including access control breaches, exit scams, and phishing, resulting in significant financial losses. Exit scams, also known as rug pulls, were particularly damaging, costing users $68.3 million. Additionally, vulnerabilities in code and flash loan attacks contributed to losses of $42.6 million and $37.7 million, respectively.

Ethereum bore the brunt of the attacks, enduring 131 incidents resulting in $139 million in losses. Despite this, there was a glimmer of optimism as $77.9 million was recovered across various incidents, including the Munchables case.

One of the notable breaches occurred on January 30, involving Ripple’s co-founder, Chris Larsen. His XRP wallets fell victim to unauthorized access, leading to the illicit transfer of approximately 213 million XRP, valued at around $112 million.

This incident marked the largest security breach of 2024, prompting swift responses from exchanges and law enforcement agencies to track down and freeze the stolen assets.

Close on its heels was the Munchables hack in March, where hackers initially pilfered and subsequently returned $62.5 million. This act of returning the stolen funds highlights the unpredictability and intricacies inherent in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.