In the year 2023, hackers managed to abscond with approximately $2 billion in cryptocurrencies, signaling a notable decrease from the alarming all-time high of approximately $3.8 billion recorded in 2022.
Among the notable incidents this year, Hong Kong-based crypto company Mixin fell victim to a data breach in September, resulting in the theft of $200 million. Another significant hack took place in March when cyber-criminals seized about $197 million from the crypto lending platform Euler Finance.
De.FI, the Web3 security firm responsible for the REKT database, highlighted that the $2 billion in crypto thefts this year, while distributed across various incidents, underscores the persistent vulnerabilities and challenges within the DeFi ecosystem. Their report, shared with TechCrunch, noted that 2023 served as a testament to both the ongoing vulnerabilities and the strides made in addressing them, even amid a relatively subdued interest in the space during the first half of the year, characterized by an ongoing bear market.
In December, leading crypto exchange HTX experienced a net outflow of $258 million following a $30 million hack in November. Another incident occurred in June when Atomic Wallet, a mobile and desktop crypto wallet, faced a security breach, resulting in the loss of over $35 million in crypto assets.
Notably, over $7 billion in cryptocurrency has been illicitly laundered through cross-chain crime, with North Korea's Lazarus Group allegedly linked to the theft of approximately $900 million between July 2022 and July of the current year. According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, cross-chain services are rapidly becoming the preferred method for money laundering in various cybercrimes, encompassing scams and crypto thefts.
This surge in cross-chain crime involves the swift swapping of crypto assets between different tokens or blockchains, often with no legitimate business purpose, to obfuscate their criminal origin. The report from Elliptic accentuates the growing sophistication of cybercriminals in evading detection.
Comparatively, last year saw cryptocurrency hackers make off with $3.8 billion, marking it as the worst year on record for crypto investors, an escalation from the $3.3 billion recorded in 2021, as reported by Blockchain monitoring firm Chainalysis.
(With Agency Inputs)
Read also| Centre Reports PLI Schemes Garnering Rs 95,000 Crore in Investments
Read also| 2023 may have been cryptocurrencies best year ever
