The year 2024 is so far considered to be one of the best for the Cryptocurrency market. With Bitcoin (BTC) marking a new all-time high and bitcoin and ether (ETH) ETFs entering the scene, everything has seemed to be going swimmingly for the ecosystem, despite some ups and downs in price.
But the experienced rally This year, the digital currency has also brought unpleasant consequences, including: The rise of cryptocurrency thefts.
This is demonstrated by recent data from the security firm Inmunefi. In its report for the month of August, entitled “Losses in cryptocurrencies”, the company reveals alarming statistics on theft from the bitcoin and other cryptocurrency community.
He notes that the total funds lost to hacks and thefts so far amounts to USD 1,210.7 million. This, in 154 incidents that occurred in the last 8 months. A figure that marks a 15.5% increase compared to cryptocurrency thefts that occurred in the same period in 2023, when losses totaled USD 1.048 billion.
Such an increase is related to the increase in the value of cryptocurrencies in the rally of this 2024, a fact that makes them more attractive to hackers.
This indicates that the increase in the price of these assets creates a tempting target because this year the stolen funds are generating significantly higher profits than last year.
Inmunefi identifies the month of May as the period where Most of the year’s losses were sufferedwith thefts totaling USD 358 million. This includes the theft of 4,500 bitcoins from the Japanese exchange DMM Bitcoin, qualified as one of the largest hacks recorded in terms of value, as reported by CriptoNoticias.
The second month with the most thefts was July (USD 274.7 million); followed by June (141.5 million); and January and March (with USD 133 million each). This is how it is observed a correlation between the months with the most cryptocurrency thefts and the moments of greatest increases, especially when the value of BTC fluctuated above USD 60,000 reaching peaks that exceeded USD 70,000.
Chart of losses caused by online attacks or fraud in cryptocurrencies in 2024. Source: Immunefi.
The month of August was observed a significant decrease in robberieswith losses falling to USD 15 million. Interestingly, this month was also characterized by the bitcoin market experiencing one of the biggest falls of the year (of almost 20%), occurred in the context of “black monday” which affected almost all markets in the world on August 5.
It should be added that the data from Inmunefi coincide largely with the figures handled by the firm TRM Labs, according to which hackers had stolen more than 1.380 million dollars in cryptocurrencies until June 24, 2024. Although it differs in the percentage of increase in crimes compared to the previous year.
“The amount of cryptocurrency stolen in cyberattacks globally more than doubled in the first six months of 2024 compared to the previous year, driven by a small number of large attacks and rising cryptocurrency prices,” Blockchain researchers TRM Labs said.
Ethereum-sigue-siendo-la-red-que-sufre-mas-robos-nbsp”>Ethereum remains the network that suffers the most thefts
In its report on theft and fraud, Inmunefi also identified the most attacked networks during the year, citing Ethereum and BNB Chain as the main targets of hackers.
Ethereum bore the brunt, with three attacks representing 60% of total losses. BNB Chain suffered two incidents, which represent the Remaining 40% of losses.
He added that cyber attacks, in which cybercriminals try to access servers by introducing viruses and malware files, were the most commonly used form of theft. mainly in August.
Crypto Keynote USA
For the Latest Crypto News, Follow ©KeynoteUSA on Twitter Or Google News.