Cyber intrusions and frauds in the cryptocurrency market have soared this year, with 32 thefts and frauds worth a total of $2.99 billion so far, according to a study released on Tuesday.
According to Crypto Head, which tracks cryptocurrency market information and writes guidelines for cryptocurrency markets, the number of cryptocurrency thefts and frauds this year is expected to break the record of 38 set in 2020, with the number of cases last year up 40.7 per cent from 2019.
The average value of theft and fraud this year is $93.3 million. Attacks on wallets and exchanges are the most common type, with 126 in the past decade, outpacing attacks and fraud related to decentralized finance (DeFi) (41 each). James Page, author of encryption technology for Crypto Head, wrote: "however, the number of DeFi vulnerabilities is increasing, and this new technology is more prone to potential weaknesses."
Over the past decade, cryptocurrencies worth a total of $19.2 billion have been stolen and defrauded. Bitcoin was the most attacked, accounting for 33.3% of the total number of cases.
Ethernet is the second most attacked cryptocurrency, recording 36 times, or 12.8% of the total, in the past 10 years.
The United States is the most frequently attacked country, with 17 cases of hacking and fraud, followed by the United Kingdom and South Korea, with 12 and 9 respectively.
In May 2021, hackers made a record number of attacks, but hackers made the most money in 2017, stealing an average of $223.5 million, with a total of up to $4.7 billion. Crypto Head said the biggest hacking incident to date happened to Mt. Gox, which stole 615 million dollars over the years, causing the platform to go bankrupt in 2014.
Crypto Head said most of the data it analyzed came from Crystal, a digital asset analysis platform, and ignored cryptocurrency cases intercepted by the government or law enforcement agencies.