Crypto losses from hacks and scams more than doubled in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the same period the previous year, according to research from blockchain security platform Immunefi.
Over $572 million was lost in Q2, compared to only $220 million in Q2 of 2023. Centralized exchange hacks made up the bulk of the losses in the quarter. Mitchell Amador, Founder and CEO of Immunefi, stated:
“This quarter highlights how infrastructure compromises can be the most devastating hacks in crypto, as a single compromise can lead to millions in damages. Robust measures to safeguard the entirety of the ecosystem are crucial.”
Before Q2, losses from hacks and scams were declining, with Immunefi reporting a 23% reduction in Q1. This downward trend continued through April and most of May. However, losses skyrocketed towards the end of May and into June.
Major hacks and losses
Immunefi’s report revealed 72 instances of hacks and scams in Q2 2024. Of these, 53 were hacking incidents, resulting in a total loss of $564,238,811. Additionally, 19 fraud incidents accounted for $8,450,050 in losses.
The largest losses were suffered by two major projects: DMM Bitcoin, a Japanese crypto exchange, which lost $305 million, and BtcTurk, Turkey’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, which lost $55 million.
In Q2 2024, hacks were the predominant cause of losses, making up 98.5% of the total, while fraud accounted for only 1.5%. The report detailed that the total losses from hacks increased by 155% compared to Q2 2023, while losses from frauds decreased by 81%.
Notably, the number of successful attacks decreased by 11%, from 81 in Q2 2023 to 72 in Q2 2024. Centralized Finance was the main target for exploits in Q2 2024, representing 70% of total losses, while Decentralized Finance accounted for 30%.
CeFi losses totaled $401,400,000 across five incidents, a 984% increase from Q2 2023. In contrast, DeFi losses amounted to $171,288,861 across 62 incidents, a 25% decrease from the previous year.
Ethereum and BNB are targeted the most
The two most targeted blockchains in Q2 2024 were Ethereum and BNB Chain. Ethereum experienced 34 incidents, accounting for 46.6% of the total losses across chains, while BNB Chain had 18 incidents, making up 24.7% of the losses.
Arbitrum was the third most targeted chain, with four incidents representing 5.5% of total losses. Other chains, including Blast, Optimism, Polygon, Solana, Fantom, Linea, Mantle, and TON, saw fewer incidents but still contributed to the overall losses.
Each of these chains experienced single incidents that together made up 15% of the total losses. Despite the losses, there were some successes in recovering stolen funds. A total of $26,736,000 was recovered from four specific incidents, representing 5% of the total losses in Q2 2024.
Jai Hamid
