The amount of money stolen by hackers from cryptocurrency platforms fell by more than 50% in 2023 compared to the previous year。However, the number of individual hacking incidents has risen, suggesting that hacking remains a significant threat to cryptocurrency investors.。

Cryptocurrency hacking losses drop by more than 50%

In 2022, hackers stole a record $3.7 billion from cryptocurrency platforms, but the latest report shows that in 2023, this figure fell to about $1.7 billion, a 54% drop.。

The main reason for this decline is the dramatic reduction in decentralized finance (DeFi) hacking.。In 2021 and 2022, the amount of funds stolen from decentralized finance (DeFi) agreements exploded, exceeding $3 billion per year, while in 2023, the amount of funds stolen from decentralized finance (DeFi) agreements fell by nearly 64% to $1.1 billion.。

Despite the overall decline, the number of single cryptocurrency hacks increased from 219 in 2022 to 231 in 2023, the report said.。It is worth emphasizing that the total value of stolen assets has remained at record levels for three consecutive years.。It was significantly below $1 billion in previous years and exceeded this threshold only once in 2018.。

Commenting for Chainalysis, Mar Gimenez-Aguilar, Halborn's chief security architect and researcher, said: "There has been a worrying escalation in the frequency and severity of attacks within the ecosystem.。"

Numbers in Chainalysis report confirm security app De.Independent data from Fi, the app informed at the end of December that the total value of the lost funds was close to $2 billion.。

Hacking in DeFi

There have also been several large hacks targeting major DeFi protocols in 2023, including one stolen from Euler Finance in March..$9.7 billion, and $73 million stolen from Curve Finance in July。

"Euler Finance, the lending protocol on Ethereum, suffered a flash loan attack, resulting in approximately 1.$9.7 billion in losses, "the report commented。

Chainalysis teamed up with blockchain security firm Halborn to analyze the types of attacks behind the 2023 DeFi hack。They found that both on-chain vulnerabilities such as code vulnerabilities and off-chain issues such as private key leaks took their toll。On-chain hacking accounts for the bulk of overall losses, but the share of off-chain hacking rose later this year.。

While the decline in DeFi hacks is a positive sign, Chainalysis cautioned that this may be partly related to reduced activity and fewer targets, and not just due to improved security.。It recommends that DeFi platforms continue to improve on-chain and off-chain security measures, even during market downturns.。

Despite the reduction in losses, the number of hacks is still increasing in 2023, and cyber threats remain a key issue facing the cryptocurrency industry.。Companies and protocols need to be vigilant to prevent hackers from taking advantage of any emerging opportunities。

The report concludes: "While the total amount of money stolen from cryptocurrency platforms in 2023 is down significantly from previous years, it is clear that attackers are increasingly sophisticated and diverse in their means of exploitation.。"

The Biggest Hacks of 2023

2023 saw some of the biggest cryptocurrency exchange hacks in history。Chief among them were attacks on Poloniex and Atomic Wallet, which together caused more than 2.$200 million in losses。

In November, hackers exploited vulnerabilities in Poloniex's hot wallet infrastructure to steal about 1.$200 million in assets。The hack prompted Poloniex to take its wallet offline for emergency maintenance and security upgrades, according to a report by the blockchain analytics firm.。

It comes after Atomic Wallet was hacked in June in an incident that led to the theft of $100 million in cryptocurrency.。Atomic Wallet developers revealed that the security incident affected less than 1% of monthly active users。However, the scale of the loss puts it on the list of major exchange hacks in 2023.。