Crypto heists have been on the rise, with a 42% increase in volume in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to a recent analysis by consumer awareness firm Comparitech. In 2023, there were a total of 283 crypto theft incidents, up from 199 in 2022. However, despite the increase in the number of incidents, the total monetary value stolen actually decreased by 51% from $3.55 billion in 2022 to $1.75 billion in 2023.
Unfortunately, the trend of crypto theft seems to be continuing into 2024, with $16.93 million already being stolen as of January 15th. This amount is double the $8.37 million stolen in January 2023, indicating a worrying start to the year in terms of cryptocurrency security.
On the flip side, the research also revealed a decline in the number of rug pulls and scams in 2023, with a 25% decrease from 365 incidents in 2022 to 273 in 2023. The value of cryptocurrency lost in these scams also halved from $1.2 billion in 2022 to $656 million in 2023.
Rug pulls, which involve founders pulling out of new crypto tokens or NFTs before the project is complete, as well as exit scams from established projects, are a major concern in the crypto space. The scams cover a range of incidents, including Ponzi schemes, honeypots, and impersonations of other coins.
One possible reason for the reduction in the total monetary value stolen in 2023 could be attributed to the decline in the value of decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms during that year.
The three largest crypto heists and scams in 2023 were as follows:
1. Mixin Network – $200 million: A breach of Mixin’s cloud service provider database in September 2023 led to this significant theft.
2. Euler Finance – $197 million: Threat actors exploited a vulnerability in Euler’s DeFi lending protocol code in March 2023 to steal the funds.
3. JPEX – $192 million: This theft was the result of a crypto scam involving an unlicensed platform in Hong Kong.
According to the researchers, attacks on DeFi platforms accounted for 51% of crypto heists in 2023, followed by hacks on individual cryptocurrencies at 30%. Overall, a staggering $27 billion has been lost to crypto heists, rug pulls, and scams across all years.
Rebecca Moody, Head of Data Research at Comparitech, highlighted the prevalent issue of private key compromises leading to some of the biggest crypto thefts. She emphasized the vulnerabilities of crypto platforms, particularly those that claim to be decentralized but still have centralized storage systems for private keys.
Furthermore, a separate study released by Comparitech on January 15 revealed that ransomware attacks on US government organizations resulted in over $860 million in downtime between January 2018 and December 2023, potentially impacting more than 250 million individuals.