As per findings by Peckshield, a Web3 security company, cryptocurrency-related crimes amounted to $85.5 million in November, contributing to an annual loss of $2.43 billion.
The previous month witnessed more than 30 hacking incidents; however, the overall losses were slightly lower compared to the $102.42 million recorded in October.
Continued Focus on DeFi Platforms
DeFi (Decentralized Finance) platforms continued to attract the most attention from hackers during November, with breaches at Thala, DEXX, Gifto, Polter Finance, and Delta Prime leading to a significant portion of the total losses for the month.
To illustrate, Thala and DEXX suffered losses of $25.5 million and $21 million, making up over half of the total losses during the period.
Despite this, Thala was able to recover nearly the entire stolen sum of $25.2 million, highlighting the ongoing attraction of DeFi platforms for malicious actors in 2024.
In its mid-year 2024 report on cryptocurrency crimes, Peckshield disclosed losses of $1.56 billion, which was almost three times the figure reported in the corresponding period of 2023 ($480 million).
During this timeframe, approximately 60% of all hacks targeted DeFi protocols, with major cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), and Ripple (XRP) being among the most frequently stolen tokens.
An excerpt from the H1 2024 report emphasized,
“This marks a notable 293% surge from the same period in 2023 when losses amounted to $480 million. DeFi protocols remained the primary targets, responsible for 59% of the total stolen value.”
As of now, losses in the sector have reached $889.6 million in the latter half of 2024. Despite a decrease in monthly crypto crime figures following the WaziriX incident in August, DeFi protocols continue to be the primary focal point in the second half of 2024.
The majority of the breaches occurred through phishing schemes involving fake links to DeFi platforms, which compromised both the platforms themselves and the users attempting to link their wallets.
This underscores the importance of exercising caution when interacting with shared links and connecting your wallets to preferred DEX (Decentralized Exchange) or DeFi platforms.