Study: Crypto Assets Worth $572.7 Million Lost to Hacks and Fraud in Q2 2024

Fraud Accounts for 1.5% of Losses

In the second quarter of 2024, crypto losses attributed to 72 hacks and fraud totaled $572.7 million, according to the latest Immunefi Crypto Losses report. This figure is more than double the $265.5 million worth of digital assets lost to the same attack vectors during the corresponding period in 2023.

However, unlike in Q2 of 2023, when losses from fraud, scams, and rug pulls nearly reached $45 million, criminals using these attacks only succeeded in siphoning $8.45 million, representing approximately 1.5% of total losses. The Immunefi report also indicates that centralized finance (cefi) platforms accounted for a significant portion of the losses, approximately $401.4 million or 70% of the total.

On the other hand, decentralized finance ( defi) platforms lost approximately $172.1 million across 63 incidents. This figure is 25% lower than the $228.48 million that defi platforms lost in the second quarter of 2023.

There is No Safe Infrastructure

Mitchell Amador, founder and CEO at Immunefi, commented on the report, emphasizing that the findings show both defi and cefi platforms are not safe.

“This quarter highlights how infrastructure compromises can be the most devastating hacks in crypto, as a single compromise can lead to millions in damages. This was evident during this quarter, where losses surged primarily due to hacks targeting CeFi infrastructure, surpassing DeFi, despite a smaller number of hacks in that sector. Robust measures to safeguard the entirety of the ecosystem are crucial,” Amador said.

The Immunefi report data indicates that the hack on the Japanese crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin, which resulted in the theft of bitcoin ( BTC) worth $305 million, was the largest loss by a single entity. Btcturk, which suffered a massive cyberattack on June 23, incurred the second-largest loss in Q2 2024, totaling $55 million. The digital assets lost in the DMM Bitcoin and Btcturk attacks alone account for 62.8% of all losses in Q2 2024.

Meanwhile, the latest data suggests that the value of digital assets lost to hacks and fraud in 2024 has reached $920.9 million, representing a 24% increase compared to the approximately $703 million lost last year. Notably, May saw the largest losses at $358.5 million, while April had the smallest incurred losses at $72.6 million.

What are your thoughts on the Immunefi Crypto Losses Report? Share your opinions in the comments section below.