The amount of cryptocurrency stolen in hacks worldwide more than doubled in the first six months of 2024 compared to the same period last year, driven by a few large-scale attacks and rising crypto prices, according to blockchain researchers TRM Labs.
Hackers made off with over $1.38 billion worth of crypto by June 24, 2024, a significant increase from the $657 million stolen during the same timeframe in 2023, TRM Labs revealed in their report. The median theft size was one-and-a-half times larger than the previous year.
While there have been no fundamental changes in the security of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, we have seen a significant increase in the value of various tokens – from bitcoin to ether (ETH) and Solana – compared to the same time last year, said Ari Redbord, global head of policy at TRM Labs.
Cryptocurrency prices have largely recovered from their late 2022 lows, which followed the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange, FTX. Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $73,803.25 in March this year.
One of the most significant losses this year was the theft of approximately $308 million worth of bitcoin from Japanese crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin.
Cryptocurrency companies are frequent targets for hacks and cyberattacks, though losses of this magnitude are unusual. In 2022, stolen cryptocurrency volumes were around $900 million, partly due to the more than $600 million theft from a blockchain network linked to the online game Axie Infinity. The United States has attributed that theft to North Korean hackers.
The United Nations has accused North Korea of using cyber attacks to help fund its nuclear and missile programs, accusations which North Korea has denied.
