According to a report by SlowMist on July 7, a staggering $30 billion worth of cryptocurrency has been hacked in 1,101 documented incidents from 2012 to the present.
This represents approximately 2.5% of the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies. SlowMist, a blockchain security firm, identified the top five most common types of hacks as smart contract vulnerabilities, rug pulls, flash loan attacks, scams, and private key leaks.
Among the documented incidents, there were 118 exchange hacks, 217 hacks within the Ethereum ecosystem, 162 within the BNB Smart Chain ecosystem, 119 within the EOS ecosystem, and 85 hacks related to nonfungible tokens (NFTs).
Exchange hacks accounted for the largest losses, with over $10 billion lost over the past decade.
READ MORE: Vitalik Buterin Fires Warning About Bitcoin’s Future
Notable early attacks in the history of Bitcoin include the infamous 2014 Mt. Gox hack and the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
Mt. Gox, once the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world, filed for bankruptcy in 2014 after discovering that 850,000 BTC (valued at $25.2 billion at the time) had been stolen through discreet hacks over several years.
Since then, Mt. Gox has managed to recover 200,000 BTC (worth $6.1 billion) and is in the process of redistributing them to creditors.
Similarly, in 2016, Bitfinex experienced a security breach that resulted in the loss of 119,576 BTC, valued at around $70 million at the time and approximately $3.7 billion now.
On February 8, 2022, special agents from the United States Department of Justice managed to recover 94,000 of the stolen BTC.
Interestingly, the report indicates that hack events with losses exceeding $1 billion peaked in the early 2010s and between 2019 and 2021.
Since 2022, there has been a decrease in the number of security incidents, aligning with findings from other reports.
These alarming figures highlight the ongoing challenges of securing cryptocurrencies and the need for robust security measures within the crypto ecosystem.
As the industry continues to evolve, it is crucial for individuals, exchanges, and projects to prioritize cybersecurity to safeguard against potential attacks and protect the investments of users.
