The cryptocurrency ecosystem has shown progress in protecting itself from fraud and theft
A shift in the online cryptocurrency trend of hacks and thefts was seen in 2023, with security firms tracking the incidents reporting a reduction in the total amount stolen as opposed to past years, but the threat remains substantial. Crypto hackers stole approximately $2 billion across assorted attacks in 2023, a decline from the records seen over the previous two years.
Well-known web3 security firm De.Fi, which operates the REKT database, described the scale of the thefts and highlighted significant breaches, including the 2022 Ronin network attack, where more than $650 million was swiped, the largest amount to date. A noteworthy incident in 2023 was when the Mixin Network was hacked for $200 million.
While the numbers have declined, De.Fi underscores the ongoing security issues within the decentralized finance (DeFi) landscape. The report echoes the persistent vulnerabilities in the industry versus the progress made in security standards. The firm found that interest in cryptocurrency remained relatively calm in the first half of the year while the market saw a bearish trend.
Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs mirrors these conclusions. As of mid-December, they estimate that the total crypto theft in 2023 was about $1.7 billion. However, this is significantly lower than the $3.8 billion reported stolen in 2022 by blockchain monitoring company Chainalysis. According to the firm, thieves also made off with $3.3 billion in 2021.
The North Korean government-backed Lazarus Group heavily influenced last year’s numbers. Chainalysis reported that they were responsible for stealing $1.7 billion in 2022, a significant part of North Korea’s funding for its nuclear weapons agenda. Lazarus is also accused of hacking $100 million from Atomic Wallet, $54 million from CoinEX and $41 million in crypto from online gaming provider Stake.
