Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoreNews is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoreNews on whether to sell, buy or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk.
CryptoreNews covers fintech, blockchain and Bitcoin bringing you the latest crypto news and analyses on the future of money.
Cryptocurrency platforms lost $3.63 billion due to 245 incidents from last year through July of this year, according to analysts from the data aggregator CoinGecko.
The greatest damage was caused by infrastructure and supply chain vulnerabilities, where cumulative losses are estimated at $1.8 billion. Among the most notable incidents were attacks on Bybit and KelpDAO. Other common threats include smart contract exploits and private key compromise, the aggregator’s experts stated in their research materials.
The nature of attacks depends on the type of platform, they write. For centralized exchanges, the primary threat remains private key compromise. Decentralized applications lost approximately $546 million over a year and a half due to smart contract vulnerability exploitation. Oracle and price manipulations led to losses at Bitget, Binance, and Hyperliquid, the authors of the research noted.
Related Posts
According to CoinGecko analysts, independent security audits do not guarantee a project’s protection from hacks. Of the 245 recorded incidents, 147 occurred with protocols that had been audited. These crypto platforms accounted for 88.44% of the total volume of stolen funds.
Only about 11% of attacks were directly related to smart contract vulnerabilities, which typically fall under the list of items subject to standard security checks. In other cases, attackers exploited weaknesses in external infrastructure, unaudited code updates, protocol governance mechanisms, or social engineering methods.
Against the backdrop of the growing number of incidents, the volume of active insurance coverage has decreased. According to CoinGecko, the indicator in leading crypto insurance protocols decreased by 20.2%, from $163.2 million to $130.2 million. The total volume of insurance payouts remained at approximately $33 million. The authors of the research attribute the reduction in coverage to the high risks of the crypto market, which make users less willing to provide capital to insurance protocols or purchase protection at a higher cost.
Previously, analysts from Onchain Lens estimated crypto project losses from publicly recorded hacks in the first half of the year at $1.32 billion. Over these six months, security experts identified 224 such incidents.
