Nearly Two Billion Lost by Users in 2023 Hacks:
In 2023, more than $1.8 billion worth of cryptocurrencies were stolen in hacks and scams. This marks a 54% decrease in losses compared to 2022. However, the report reveals a 90% increase in the number of incidents compared to the previous year.
1.8 Billion Lost in Various On-Chain Incidents
According to a report by Immunefi, cryptocurrency users experienced losses of over $1.8 billion in 2023 due to various events, such as hacks, security vulnerabilities, scams, and rug pulls. This amount represents a 54% decrease from the $3.9 billion lost in 2022.
However, the number of incidents saw a concerning rise from 168 in 2022 to 319 in 2023, an increase of 90%.
Another noteworthy information is that the majority of losses in 2023, totaling $1.6 billion, came from hacks. These losses occurred in 247 separate incidents, primarily affecting decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
The third quarter of 2023 was particularly disastrous, accounting for one-third of all losses recorded throughout the year.
BNB Chain and Ethereum: Major Targets of These Attacks
The North Korean group, Lazarus Group, emerged as the most prolific attacker, stealing $308.6 million, which represents 17.4% of the total losses.
Furthermore, the BNB Chain and Ethereum blockchains were favored targets for these attacks. They accounted for over half of the total losses, amounting to just over $900 million.
Among the most significant incidents in 2023 were attacks against Atomic Wallet, Mixin Network, Multichain, Poloniex, and more recently, KyberSwap.
Despite these alarming figures, approximately 13.5% of the stolen funds, amounting to $231.7 million, were recovered.