Due to a few significant attacks and growing cryptocurrency prices, the amount of cryptocurrency taken in hacks worldwide more than doubled in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period the previous year, according to blockchain researchers TRM Labs.
According to a research by TRM Labs, by June 24, 2024, hackers had taken over $1.38 billion worth of cryptocurrency, up from $657 million during the same period in 2023. According to the data, the median theft increased by half compared to the previous year.
According to Ari Redbord, global head of policy at TRM Labs, they have not observed any substantial changes in the security of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, but they have noticed a notable rise in the value of other tokens, including as bitcoin, ETH (ether), and Solana, in comparison to the same period last year.
According to Redbord, this implies that cybercriminals are more inclined to target cryptocurrency services and have greater capacity for theft when they do.
When Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, collapsed in late 2022, the price of cryptocurrencies generally rebounded. In March of this year, bitcoin reached an all-time high of $73,803.25.
The approximately $308 million worth of bitcoin that was stolen from the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin in what the business dubbed a “unauthorised leak” is among the worst losses in the cryptocurrency space so far this year.
Hacks and cyberattacks targeting cryptocurrency companies are common, while losses of this magnitude are uncommon.
According to Redbord, the amount of cryptocurrency that was stolen in 2022 was approximately $900 million, with over $600 million of that amount coming from a blockchain network connected to the online game Axie Infinity. North Korean hackers have been connected to that theft by the US.
North Korea has been charged by the UN with employing cyberattacks to finance its nuclear and missile programs. Previous accusations of hacking and other cyberattacks have been refuted by North Korea.
