The first half of 2024 has been marked by a surge in major hacks in the cryptocurrency industry. Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), and XRP have led crypto fraud losses with over $1.5 billion. There have been over 200 major incidents this year resulting in losses of approximately $1.56 billion.
Crypto fraud losses reach $1.5 billion
According to data from Peck Shield Alert, only $319 million of the lost cryptocurrency funds have been recovered. Moreover, this year's losses represent a staggering 293% increase compared to the same period in 2023, when losses amounted to $480 million.
Moreover, DeFi protocols have become the main target of hackers. DeFi protocols accounted for 59% of the total amount stolen. More than 20 public chains experienced major hacks during this period. Moreover, Ethereum, Bitcoin, and XRP topped the list of losses from crypto hacks.
Moreover, the most frequent targets were the Ethereum and BNB chains, each accounting for 31.3% of all hacks, while Arbitrum accounted for 12.5% of attacks. One of the most significant incidents occurred on June 3, 2024.
DMM Bitcoin, a major Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, reported a massive data breach. Attackers stole 4,502.9 BTC, worth more than $300 million at the time. The incident highlighted the vulnerability of exchanges, especially those that handle large amounts of digital assets.
Related article: XRP News: Whales move 63 million coins as Ripple steps up legal action
Massive XRP, ETH, and BTC Hack
On June 10, one week after the DMM Bitcoin attack, UwU Lend, a decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol, was breached. The breach resulted in the loss of approximately $19.3 million worth of digital assets. The hack highlights the ongoing risks associated with DeFi platforms, which often lack regulatory oversight. The platform subsequently offered a $5 million bounty for the arrest of the hackers.
Earlier this year, on February 3, 2024, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen acknowledged that there had been a major security breach involving his personal wallet. Initially, there were rumors that Ripple itself was the target. However, Larsen clarified that the hack involved his own digital wallet, not Ripple's corporate assets.
The hackers managed to transfer 213 million XRP tokens, worth approximately $112.5 million. Additionally, on-chain sleuth ZachXBT was the first to alert the community to the suspicious transactions. Following the theft, Larsen and various cryptocurrency exchanges took swift action to mitigate the impact.
Multiple exchanges, including MEXC, Gate, Binance, Kraken, OKX, HTX, and HitBTC, worked together to freeze the majority of the stolen funds, with Binance alone freezing $4.2 million worth of XRP to aid in the investigation.
Additionally, on April 2, 2024, a security breach occurred at FixedFloat, a Bitcoin Lightning-based exchange, resulting in financial losses of over $3 million due to fraudulent transactions. This incident follows a similar breach earlier this year and highlights FixedFloat's recurring security issues.
The company also faced major challenges in defending its platform against repeated attacks, including one in February when hackers stole $26 million worth of Ethereum and Bitcoin from FixedFloat, which were then dumped on exchanges to make a profit.
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