The crypto industry has been known to be a target of malicious players due to its anonymity. This has left many wondering how much digital currency has been stolen from the industry in the past. Recently released by SlowMist, a blockchain security firm, their report shows that hackers and scammers have stolen an astonishing $30 billion worth of cryptocurrency since 2012.
Details Of The Report
SlowMist analyzed 1,101 hacking cases to determine how much crypto has been stolen and how. Their findings show that hackers and scammers employ a variety of methods, such as contract vulnerability attacks, rug pulls, flash loan attacks, scams, leaking of private keys, and phishing attacks, to gain access to people’s crypto accounts and wallets. The most lucrative year for malicious players was in 2021, when over $9.7 Billion was stolen in 236 crimes. In total, the amount of money stolen over the past decade was a little more than $30 billion. This means that the reported amount of theft is more than 2.5% of the total market capitalization of all crypto currencies, which is currently at $1.14 trillion.
Exchanges And Ethereum Ecosystem Hit The Most
Exchanges have been a large target for hackers who want to steal crypto assets. More than 118 attacks have been carried out against exchanges resulting in losses of $10.9 billion. The biggest loss was $534 million in 2018 from the Coincheck Hack and the 2014 Mt. Gov Hacking, resulting in over $473 Million loss.
What’s Next For The Crypto Industry?
The staggering numbers in SlowMist’s report are a reminder that crypto, for all its promise, also has a dark side. Many projects are underway to enhance security and reduce thefts, as over a billion dollars is at stake in the crypto world. The latest news by Beosin shows that losses due to Web3 scams, hacks, and other cybercrimes dropped drastically in the first half of 2023. Data from SlowMist’s report also shows that the total amount of money lost to blockchain hackers has been declining since 2021.
