According to a report from Crystal Intelligence, cryptocurrency thefts totaling almost $19 billion have occurred since 2011, with the industry grappling with a surge in blockchain-related crime.
The report highlights 785 incidents of crypto theft, including 220 security breaches, 345 decentralized finance (DeFi) hacks, and 220 fraud schemes.
The largest theft on record took place in 2019, amounting to $2.9 billion and linked to the Plus Token Ponzi scheme. Since then, crypto crime has continued to rise, with 2023 setting records for the volume of thefts, totaling 286 incidents worth over $2.3 billion.
Despite efforts to improve monitoring and reporting mechanisms, illegal activity on the blockchain has persisted and even grown, according to the report.
In the past two years, Ethereum has emerged as the primary target, with 131 incidents totaling nearly $1.3 billion. Binance Smart Chain (BSC) follows closely, with 100 incidents resulting in over $186 million in losses.
The report covers all hacks until March 2024. Since then, Japanese crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin suffered a hack totaling $320 million, prompting the company to announce plans to raise capital to reimburse affected users.
Source: coindesk.com
