2023 is set to see fresh waves of malicious attacks, phishing, scams, and other hacking attempts on cryptocurrency and decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms, a recent CertiK report has revealed.
It was considered the worst year for the industry, with losses increasing from $3.2 billion from the previous year, the company added in a statement to the media.
November was the worst month for cryptocurrency platforms after thieves stole over $595 million in tokens, the company said in its report.
According to a recent CertiK report teaser, cryptocurrency markets saw nearly $3.7 billion USD wiped out due to hackers, scammers, and platform exploits.
It said in a tweet,
“2022 was a painful year for the many in crypto. Alongside a broad market downturn, the year was punctuated by a number of exploits, hackers, and bankruptcies, with one major exception. The largest losses of user funds this year resulted from centralized platforms going insolvent as falling asset prices exposed their unsustainable business practices”
The company cited the fall of Terra/LUNA, a stablecoin that had lost its currency peg in May last year, triggering a rapid collapse of the cryptocurrency.
Speaking to Business Insider, Ronghui Gu, CertiK chief executive and co-founder, added: “With almost three times as much value lost from Web3 protocols in 2022 compared to 2021, it’s clear that there’s still a lot of work to be done to secure the Web3 world.”
Hacktober to Poor-vember?
The news comes amid the ongoing collapse of FTX, one of the world’s largest trading platforms, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in mid-November.
Investors saw roughly $8 billion USD in assets wiped from the platform, namely after a massive liquidity crunch ahead of its bankruptcy at the time. Numerous executives, including ex-chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried and former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, among others, face significant charges for fraud, misappropriation of funds, and defrauding several systems.
Hackers also stole $28 million from Derebit, a massive cryptocurrency exchange for derivatives and other securities, forcing the company to temporarily halt withdrawals.
The incident took place in early November, with the exchange stating it was still in a “financially sound position.” CoinGecko data verified its daily trading volumes were $280 million.
Additional hacks have taken place on Binance, forcing the world’s largest exchange by trading volume to suspend transactions due to the attacks temporarily.
Company chief executive Changpeng Zhao later apologised for the breach, with a further spokesperson stating that roughly $100 million remained “unrecovered.”
Additionally, in March, hackers hit blockchain platform Ronin Bridge in one of the world’s largest crypto thefts on record. North Korean hackers allegedly stole the funds, according to US authorities.
