Ethereum

Arbitrum

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In the second quarter of 2024, a total of $572.7 million in crypto was lost across 72 incidents due to hacks and scams. Centralized finance platforms were the primary targets of these breaches.&nbsp; 
These losses marks a 70.3% increase from the $336.3 million lost in Q1 and a staggering 112% rise compared to Q2 2023 when $265.5 million was stolen, according to a recent <a href="https://downloads.ctfassets.net/t3wqy70tc3bv/25QlpTkJpMp7GrMm8w8FAU/6b646726535fc1def965ae12fee6a9a0/Immunefi_Crypto_Losses_in_Q2_2024.pdf" target="_blank" rel="">report</a> from Immunefi, a Web3 bug bounty and security services platform.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
Over $900 million has been lost to these illicit activities year-to-date, a 24% increase from the same period last year. 
Immunefi’s data highlights a shift in targets. In Q2, centralized finance (<a href="https://crypto.news/tag/CeFi/" data-type="link" data-id="https://crypto.news/tag/CeFi/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CeFi</a>) platforms bore the brunt of the attacks, accounting for 70% ($401.4 million) of the losses. In contrast, decentralized finance (<a href="https://crypto.news/tag/DeFi" data-type="link" data-id="https://crypto.news/tag/DeFi">DeFi</a>) platforms accounted for 30% ($171.3 million) of the quarter’s losses. This marks a change from Q1, where DeFi platforms were the sole targets of identified exploits. 
The losses from hacks and scams amounted to $572.7 million. 
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="large-hacks">Large hacks</h2> 
The two most prominent exploits in Q2 contributed significantly to the total losses, with Japanese cryptocurrency trading platform <a href="https://crypto.news/japans-dmmbitcoin-to-match-outflows-after-308m-hack/" target="_blank" data-type="link" data-id="https://crypto.news/japans-dmmbitcoin-to-match-outflows-after-308m-hack/" rel="noreferrer noopener">DMM Bitcoin</a> losing $305 million and Turkish crypto exchange <a href="https://crypto.news/crypto-exchange-btcturk-attack-hot-wallets-compromised/" target="_blank" data-type="link" data-id="https://crypto.news/crypto-exchange-btcturk-attack-hot-wallets-compromised/" rel="noreferrer noopener">BtcTurk</a> losing $55 million on June 23.&nbsp; 
These incidents alone accounted for 62.8% of the total losses.&nbsp;May 2024 saw the highest monthly losses in the quarter, totaling $358.5 million. 
Mitchell Amador, founder and CEO of Immunefi, emphasized the severity of infrastructure compromises, stating, “This quarter highlights how infrastructure compromises can be the most devastating hacks in crypto, as a single compromise can lead to millions in damages.” 
&nbsp;He stressed the need for robust security measures to protect the entire ecosystem. 
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="why-this-happened">Why this happened&nbsp;</h2> 
Centralized finance platforms, which manage substantial asset pools, have become major targets due to their central repositories and security weaknesses — making them <a href="https://crypto.news/defillama-crypto-hacks-comprise-7-7b-in-losses-since-2016/" target="_blank" data-type="link" data-id="https://crypto.news/defillama-crypto-hacks-comprise-7-7b-in-losses-since-2016/" rel="noreferrer noopener">susceptible</a> to hacks. 
These platforms are also growing in value, and the value of Web3 protocols, particularly Ethereum (<a href="https://crypto.news/price/ethereum/" target="_blank" data-type="link" data-id="https://crypto.news/price/ethereum/" rel="noreferrer noopener">ETH</a>), has attracted hackers seeking easy money. 
Hacks were the dominant form of loss, accounting for 98.5% ($564.2 million) of the total across 53 incidents.&nbsp; 
The DMM Bitcoin incident and similar infrastructure breaches have led to significant losses. DeFi platforms <a href="https://crypto.news/andromeda-and-injective-join-forces-to-boost-defi-adoption/" target="_blank" data-type="link" data-id="https://crypto.news/andromeda-and-injective-join-forces-to-boost-defi-adoption/" rel="noreferrer noopener">have improved their security measures</a> in response to regulatory scrutiny, but CeFi entities are still vulnerable to cyberattacks, presenting opportunities for malicious actors. 
Fraud, scams, and rug pulls accounted for only 1.5% ($8.5 million) over 19 incidents. Ethereum and <a href="https://crypto.news/bnb-chain-based-defi-protocol-launchzone-loses-700k/" data-type="link" data-id="https://crypto.news/bnb-chain-based-defi-protocol-launchzone-loses-700k/">BNB Chain </a>were the most targeted networks, with Ethereum accounting for 44.4% of the exploits, followed by BNB Chain and Arbitrum at 5.6%. 
The heightened regulatory scrutiny on DeFi platforms has forced them to implement stricter security measures, potentially making them more challenging targets for exploits.&nbsp; 
In total, $26.7 million has been <a href="https://crypto.news/dmm-bitcoin-to-raise-320m-to-pay-back-victims-of-recent-hack/" target="_blank" data-type="link" data-id="https://crypto.news/dmm-bitcoin-to-raise-320m-to-pay-back-victims-of-recent-hack/" rel="noreferrer noopener">recovered</a> from stolen funds in four specific situations, representing only 5% of the total losses in Q2 2024.&nbsp;

Crypto industry lost $572.7m to hacks and scams in Q2

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