September Sees Significant Drop in Crypto Hack Losses Compared to August
Crypto Hacks Surge – Cumulative losses from cryptocurrency hacks exceeded $120 million in September, marking the second-lowest monthly losses from hacks in 2024, following April. This statistic underscores the ongoing vulnerability of the crypto ecosystem, particularly among centralized exchanges that continue to be prime targets for cybercriminals.
Centralized Exchanges Remain Targets
Centralized exchanges have faced significant scrutiny as frequent targets for hackers. In September, two exchanges, BingX and Indodax, were responsible for more than half of the reported losses. According to blockchain investigation firm Peckshield, the total losses of $120.23 million were spread across over 20 separate hacks, illustrating the scale and impact of these security breaches.
A Drop in Losses Compared to August
Interestingly, September saw a 61.7% decrease in losses from hacks compared to August, when the cryptocurrency ecosystem lost nearly $314 million. Among the exchanges that were compromised in September, BingX experienced the highest loss of $44 million, while Indodax reported a loss of $21 million.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Protocols Affected
In addition to centralized exchanges, several decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols also suffered significant losses. The DeFi protocol Penpie lost $27 million due to an exploit. Other notable hacks included the DeFi platform Delta Prime with $6 million, the inflation data platform Truflation with $5.6 million, and the crypto liquid restaking protocol Bedrock, which lost $2 million.
Shezmu, a crypto lender initially hacked for $5 million, managed to recover some stolen funds through on-chain negotiations with the hacker. Additionally, the Telegram bot Banana Gun announced a refund for crypto traders affected by its $3 million hack, showcasing the varied impacts of these security breaches across the crypto landscape.
WazirX Faces Challenges After Major Hack
As of October 1, the Indian crypto exchange WazirX remains the largest victim of a hack in 2024. On July 18, WazirX suffered a staggering $235 million loss after one of its Safe Multisig wallets on Ethereum was compromised. Following the breach, the exchange suspended all crypto and cash withdrawals to conduct an internal investigation.
Ongoing Legal Challenges and Losses
Three months post-hack, WazirX has not yet issued any remediation plans to compensate affected users. In a recent development, rival crypto exchange CoinSwitch has initiated legal action against WazirX to recover 2% of its assets, valued at approximately $6.2 million. Despite its ongoing fund recovery efforts, WazirX disclosed that 43% of customer funds are irrevocably lost, highlighting the severe ramifications of such security breaches.
FAQ
What were the total cumulative losses from cryptocurrency hacks in September 2024?
In September 2024, cumulative losses from cryptocurrency hacks exceeded $120 million, marking it as the second-lowest monthly loss from hacks this year, following April.
Which exchanges were primarily responsible for the September losses?
The crypto exchanges BingX and Indodax accounted for more than half of the total losses in September, with BingX losing $44 million and Indodax suffering losses of $21 million.
Leave a comment