$1.89B stolen from crypto investors in 2023
Cryptocurrency heists have cost users $1.89 billion this year alone, according to fresh data. The findings echo recent research into crimes targeting Web 3.0.
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Cryptocurrency heists have cost users $1.89 billion this year alone, according to fresh data. The findings come hard on the heels of another recent report that found similarly high losses in the Web 3.0 sector.
Crypto enthusiasts can draw some comfort from the knowledge that crimes affecting their digital investments at least seem to be on the decline. Money Mongers added that last year’s total losses came to $3.5 billion.
Each tally straddles nearly 300 recorded incidents of cybercrime targeting cryptocurrency, indicating that, while digital heists may not be going anywhere, last year’s record takedown of Ronin for $625 million may prove to be an anomaly.
Web 3.0 cybersecurity firm Immunefi published research of its own earlier this month that placed total losses for the sector to crime in 2023 at nearly $1.4 billion. That includes last month’s cyberattack on Mixin crypto platform that cost it around $200 million.
The reports suggest that blockchain-based industries are far from secure investments.
“Apart from regular users, [cryptocurrency] also caught the eyeballs of hackers and cyber attackers,” said Money Mongers. “As a result, several crypto exchanges, crypto companies, blockchain networks, and others face crypto hack attacks from time to time.”
The research company says that, since 2011, there have been more than 1,200 such attacks on crypto targets, causing net losses of $12.36 billion in digital currencies. That includes 193 exchanges like Ronin that have been hacked over the same period, with 2018 the worst year on record with $1.1 billion in thefts.
Bitcoin and Ethereum are the highest profile targets, and when these thefts are adjusted for changes in value from the time of the crimes being committed – cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and subject to frequent price changes – the grand total stands at north of $40 billion in losses, Money Mongers added.
Other major hacks included Poly Network, which lost more than $600 million in 2021, and Binance Smart Chain, which suffered losses of $566 million last year.