In the ongoing battle against cyber threats, the crypto industry faced another year of big challenges, with hackers managing to siphon off billions of dollars. However, there is a glimmer of optimism as, for the first time since 2020, a downward trend has been observed, according to reports from leading crypto security firms.
De.FI, a prominent web3 security firm responsible for operating the REKT database, revealed that hackers successfully stole approximately $2 billion in crypto through a series of cyberattacks and thefts throughout the year.
The REKT database highlights notable breaches, ranging from the historic Ronin network breach in 2022, where hackers made off with over $600 million—the largest incident in crypto history—to the more recent hack against Mixin Network, yielding the attackers around $200 million.
While this substantial sum was distributed across various incidents, De.Fi’s report emphasized the enduring vulnerabilities within the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem.
The report acknowledged that 2023 showcased both persistent weaknesses and notable progress in addressing these issues, even amidst a relatively subdued interest in the space during the first half of the year due to the prevailing bear market.
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Blockchain intelligence company TRM Labs, in a separate estimate released in December, put the total crypto stolen by hackers in 2023 at approximately $1.7 billion. Other incidents contributing to this total include the Euler Finance hack, where almost $200 million was stolen, and major breaches affecting Multichain ($126 million), BonqDAO ($120 million), Poloniex ($114 million), and Atomic Wallet ($100 million), among others.
Comparatively, the figures represent a decline from the previous year when cybercriminals made off with a record-breaking $3.8 billion in crypto, as reported by blockchain monitoring firm Chainalysis. Notably, $1.7 billion of the 2022 total was attributed to North Korean government hackers, the Lazarus Group, as part of their efforts to fund the regime’s nuclear weapons program.
Chainalysis had reported a similar trend in 2021 when hackers stole $3.3 billion. As crypto keeps evolving, it is challenging to predict the future, but concerns persist due to the perceived inadequacies in the security measures implemented by many crypto and web3 projects. And if adequate measures are not put in place, hackers are likely to continue targeting the industry in the coming years.