Crypto Loses in November 2024: $71M Drained as DeFi Hit Hard

November 2024 saw $71,021,500 lost across 26 hacking and rug pull incidents, according to ImmuneFi’s monthly report. This is the second-lowest monthly loss of the year, down 79% from November 2023, when the industry lost $343 million.

Year-to-date (YTD) losses have reached $1.49 billion, a 15% decrease from the same period in 2023. This drop is partly due to increased efforts to fight fraud and strengthen security in the crypto space.

November’s Major Incidents

The two biggest incidents in November were:

1. Thala Labs, which lost $25.5 million in a single attack.
2. DEXX, a memecoin trading platform, which lost $21 million.

Together, these two events made up more than 65% of the total losses for the month.

DeFi Platforms Suffer

DeFi platforms were the only targets of attacks in November, suffering all 26 incidents and 100% of the losses. Interestingly, centralized finance (CeFi) platforms saw no reported incidents during the month.

• Rug pulls and fraud accounted for a minimal $25,300 from just two incidents.
• Hacks were the main cause of losses, totaling $70,996,200 (99.96%) from 24 attacks.

Most Targeted Chains

The BNB Chain was attacked more than any other blockchain, with 14 attempts and 46.7% of the total losses. Ethereum came second with nine occurrences which were equal to 30 percent of the total amount lost. 

Other chains in the blockchain that were affected by the attacks include Solana, Polygon and Avalanche and each had only one incident indicating that threats are universal in the blockchain.

Signs of Stabilization?

November’s losses showed a 4% decrease compared to October, indicating a trend toward stabilization in the frequency of major incidents. The highest monthly losses of the year occurred in:

• May: $359 million
• July: $282 million

November’s losses are among the lowest, suggesting that efforts to secure the crypto ecosystem are having some positive effect.

Will We See Change in 2025?

Despite the reduction in losses, DeFi platforms remain the primary target for cyberattacks. This reinforces the need for better security measures, stricter regulations, and greater cooperation among developers, users, and authorities.

As 2024 ends, it is critical that the crypto community works together to create a safer environment in 2025 and beyond.