This year, cryptocurrency hacks increased in total value stolen and number of attacks compared to last year. According to a recent report, the industry lost more than $2 billion in the past 12 months, with more than half of the funds allegedly stolen by North Korean hackers.
Crypto industry loses $2.2 billion due to hacks
As the crypto industry grows, the number of hacks and total value lost has also increased. 2024 marks the fourth consecutive year in which funds stolen through cryptocurrency hacks surpassed the $1 billion mark and the fifth year overall to surpass this figure.
recent from Chainalysis report revealed that attacks remained persistent in 2024, increasing by 21.07% year over year (YoY). Total stolen value increased to $2.2 billion, $400 million more than in 2023 and the third-largest year by this metric.
In addition, 2024 became the year with the most individual attacks, reaching 303 incidents in December. This figure represents a 7% increase from 282 attacks in 2023, but Chainalysis highlights a notable change mid-year.
According to the report, the intensity of cryptocurrency hacks reduced after July, when the accumulated value stolen since January had already reached $1.58 billion. This figure was approximately 84.4% higher than the value stolen during this same period in 2023.
Number of crypto hacks increase in 2024. Source: Chainalysis
Based on this, Chainalysis analysts considered that “the ecosystem was easily on track for a year that could rival the more than $3 billion years of 2021 and 2022.” However, the 2024 bullish trend slowed considerably in late July and remained relatively stable for the rest of the year.
Centralized exchanges (CEX) were the most attacked platforms in the second and third quarters, recording some of the largest incidents in the history of the industry. The DMM Bitcoin and WazirX hacks netted around $540 million between May and July, with the former being the third largest cryptocurrency theft in history.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms accounted for the largest share of stolen assets in the first quarter, like most quarters between 2021 and 2023. Meanwhile, private key compromises were the largest type of compromise, accounting for 43 .8% of incidents.
The report also noted that private key hackers turned to bridges and mixed services to launder ill-gotten funds, while hackers from other attack vectors preferred decentralized exchanges (DEX).
North Korean hackers take 60% of stolen funds
According to Chainalysis, hackers from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) stole more from crypto platforms in 2024 than in other years. This year, the total value stolen increased by 102.88% compared to 2023, going from $660.5 million to $1.34 billion.
The number of incidents increased from 20 to 47 in 2024. These figures represent 20% of the total incidents and 61% of the total value stolen this year. Additionally, crypto attacks linked to North Korean hackers are becoming more frequent and generating greater profits.
Attacks between $50 million and $100 million, and above this price range, were more frequent this year, “suggesting that the DPRK is getting better and faster at massive attacks,” the report added.
It is worth noting that in the previous two years, North Korean exploiters obtained less than $50 million in ill-gotten funds per incident:
When examining the DPRK’s activity compared to all the other attacks we measured, it is clear that the DPRK has been consistently responsible over the past three years for the majority of large attacks. Interestingly, the DPRK’s dominance at the high end of the exploitation scale continued into 2024, but there is also an increasing density of DPRK hacks in smaller amounts, particularly around $10,000 in value.
Chainalysis highlights that North Korean IT workers have increasingly infiltrated cryptocurrency and Web3 companies, compromising networks, operations, and integrity. However, he notes that most of the DPKR-related exploits occurred at the beginning of the year, and that overall hacking activity plateaued in the third and fourth quarters.
Ultimately, the report suggested prioritizing “work due diligence (…) while maintaining strong private key hygiene to safeguard critical assets, if applicable.”
Bitcoin's performance in the one-week chart. Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView
Featured image from Unsplash.com, chart from TradingView.com
