Investors, Beware! Q3 2024 Crypto Hacks Reveal $753M Loss

The cryptocurrency industry made significant strides in the third quarter of 2024, especially in Decentralized Finance (DeFi). On-chain activity increased, showing the growing global use of tokenized assets.

But these achievements were overshadowed by ongoing security issues. According to Certik’s Q3 2024 report, $753 million was stolen across 155 security incidents—an increase of 9.5% in value compared to the previous quarter, even though the number of incidents dropped by 27%. This shows that cybercriminals in the crypto space are becoming more advanced.

Phishing Attacks – Biggest Drainer?

Phishing attacks caused the most damage, with $343 million stolen in 65 cases. Other risks, such as lost private keys and vulnerabilities in code execution, also remained serious concerns despite ongoing debates about DeFi security. Reentrancy attacks, which are common in smart contracts, further added to the losses.

Ethereum Suffers

Ethereum, which hosts the largest DeFi ecosystem, was the hardest hit, losing $387 million in 86 attacks—far more than Bitcoin, which ranked second. Inter-chain exploits are also a growing concern, with hackers stealing $89.8 million from cross-chain services.

A Wake-Up Call for the Crypto Sector

Though the crypto industry has introduced new security measures, hackers are finding new ways to exploit both centralized and decentralized systems. The rising total value of stolen assets should act as a warning for service providers, users, and investors to strengthen security measures, raise awareness, and adopt better cybersecurity practices to protect the rapidly growing crypto space.

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It’s time to prioritize prevention over reaction. Let’s build a safer crypto tomorrow.