Crypto Industry Sees $1.5B in Fraud Losses, Major Breaches in Ethereum, Bitcoin, and XRP

As CoinGape reported, the cryptocurrency sector experienced a significant increase in breaches during the first half of 2024.

Cryptocurrency fraud losses in the first half of 2024 have reached an alarming $1.56 billion, with major breaches affecting Ethereum, Bitcoin, and XRP, according to data from PeckShield Alert. These losses stem from over 200 significant incidents this year, indicating a sharp increase compared to the $480 million lost in all of 2023.

Hackers have largely targeted decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, which experienced breaches that collectively resulted in the loss of approximately $922 million, accounting for 59% of the total stolen goods.

Ethereum, Bitcoin, and XRP were among the most heavily impacted by these crypto breaches, with the stolen funds largely belonging to these three cryptocurrencies.

Ethereum and BNB Chain were the most frequently targeted blockchains, each accounting for 31.3% of the total breaches. Arbitrum subsequently accounted for 12.5% of the assaults.

One of the most significant incidents occurred on June 3, 2024, when DMM Bitcoin, a prominent Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, disclosed a major breach. The attackers seized 4,502.9 BTC, valued at over $300 million at the time of the incident. This incident highlighted the vulnerabilities of exchanges, particularly those that manage substantial quantities of digital assets.

A week after the DMM Bitcoin attack, on June 10, UwU Lend, a decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol, was compromised, leading to the loss of approximately $19.3 million in digital assets. This breach underscores the risks associated with DeFi platforms, which frequently operate with less regulatory oversight. Subsequently, the platform offered a $5 million reward for the hacker's capture.

Earlier in the year, on February 3, 2024, Chris Larsen, the co-founder of Ripple, disclosed a significant security compromise that affected his wallets. Initially, there were rumors that Ripple was the target. Larsen, however, clarified that the breach was related to his digital wallets, not Ripple's corporate assets.

The hackers were able to transmit a staggering 213 million XRP tokens, estimated to be worth $112.5 million at the time. ZachXBT, an on-chain detective, was the first to notify the community of the suspicious transactions. Larsen and various crypto exchanges promptly implemented measures to alleviate the consequences of the theft.

Multiple exchanges, including MEXC, Gate, Binance, Kraken, OKX, HTX, and HitBTC, cooperated by placing a hold on a substantial portion of the stolen funds. Binance alone froze $4.2 million in XRP to aid in the investigation.

Another incident occurred on April 2, 2024, when a security vulnerability at FixedFloat, an exchange based on the Bitcoin Lightning Network, resulted in unauthorized transactions that caused financial losses exceeding $3 million. This incident, following a comparable intrusion earlier in the year, highlighted FixedFloat's recurring security concerns.

The organization encountered substantial obstacles in safeguarding its platform from repeated assaults. In February, hackers stole $26 million in Ethereum and Bitcoin from FixedFloat, which were subsequently transferred to exchanges to generate revenue.