In the first quarter of this year, the cryptocurrency industry saw a notable decline in losses due to hacking, with a significant drop of 23.1% compared to the previous year, according to a March. 28 research report by blockchain security firm Immunefi.
According to the report, the total amount lost to hacking incidents in Q1 of 2024 amounted to approximately $336.3 million. However, the $336.3 million in losses represents a 23.1% decrease compared to losses of $437.5 million in the same quarter last year.
According to Immunefi’s research, the cryptocurrency space encountered 46 hacking incidents and 15 cases of fraudulent activities in the first quarter of 2024, leading to losses surpassing $321 million.
With nearly $100 billion of total value locked in Web3 protocols, Decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms remain a primary target for hackers, accounting for 100% of the exploits identified by Immunefi in Q1, compared to zero for centralized (CeFi) platforms.
Two projects accounted for the bulk of the losses, totaling $144.5 million, constituting 43% of the overall amount. The largest attack, amounting to $81.7 million, targeted the cross-chain bridge protocol Orbit Bridge during New Year celebrations. January saw the highest monthly losses in Q1, totaling $133 million.
Mitchell Amador, CEO of Immunefi, stressed the susceptibility of DeFi platforms to private key breaches, highlighting the pressing necessity for enhanced security measures across code and protocol infrastructure.
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At the close of the quarter, the second-largest attack involved a $62 million exploit on Blast-based NFT game Munchables. However, recovery occurred within 24 hours as the hacker surrendered the private keys to the wallet containing Munchables’ assets.
Overall, $73.9 million (22%) of the stolen funds from seven exploits in Q1 were retrieved. The number of attacks also decreased by 17.6%, from 74 in Q1 2023 to 61 this year.
In Q1, hacks dominated losses, comprising 95.6% ($321.6 million) across 46 incidents, while fraud, scams, and rug pulls accounted for 4.4% ($14.7 million) over 15 incidents. Ethereum reclaimed its position as the most targeted chain, surpassing BNB Chain, with both networks accounting for 73% of total losses combined.
Ethereum faced the highest number of attacks, with 33 incidents, constituting 51% of the losses. BNB Chain experienced 12 attacks, representing 22% of the exploited funds. Other incidents occurred on Arbitrum, Solana, Optimism, Bitcoin, Blast, Polygon, Conflux Network, and Base.
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