$2 Billion in Crypto Stolen in 2023 Cyberattacks

2023 marked a visible shift in the trend of online cryptocurrency thefts and hacks. Security firms tracking these incidents report a decline in the total value stolen compared to previous years, yet the threat remains significant. This year, crypto hackers swiped approximately $2 billion across various attacks, a decrease from the record highs observed in the past two years.

De.Fi, a prominent web3 security firm operating the REKT database, detailed the scale of these thefts. They highlighted significant breaches, including the Ronin network attack in 2022, where over $650 million was stolen – the largest to date. This year, a notable incident was the Mixin Network hack, resulting in a $200 million loss.

Despite this decline, De.Fi emphasizes the ongoing security challenges within the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. Their report reflects on the continued vulnerabilities in the sector, juxtaposed against the advancements made in security measures. The firm observes that interest in crypto remained somewhat subdued in the first half of the year, amid a bearish market trend.

TRM Labs, another blockchain intelligence firm, echoes these findings. Their estimates, as of mid-December, put the year’s total crypto theft at around $1.7 billion. This figure, while very large, is lower than the $3.8 billion reported stolen in the previous year by Chainalysis, a blockchain monitoring firm. In 2021, hackers made away with $3.3 billion, according to the same source.

The previous year’s figures were heavily influenced by the activities of the Lazarus Group, a North Korean government-backed hacking entity. Chainalysis noted that these hackers alone were responsible for stealing $1.7 billion in 2022, a substantial part of North Korea’s efforts to fund its nuclear weapons program. Lazarus was reportedly responsible for the Atomic Wallet, ($100 million) and CoinEX hacks ($54 million) and hack of online gaming operator, Stake ($41 million).

Other major thefts in 2023 included attacks on Euler Finance ($200 million), Multichain ($126 million), BonqDAO ($120 million), Poloniex ($114 million) among several others.