Immunefi Report Shows Crypto Scam and Hacks Rose by 113% in Q2

With the changes in the financial sector, crypto has become a safe haven for criminals. A recent study by Immunefi demonstrates that crypto-related crimes doubled in Q2 of 2024.

The Immunefi team observed assets worth $572 million have been lost to crypto scams and hacks. Compared to 2023, crypto losses increased by 113% from $220 million in Q2 of 2023. 

The blockchain research company noted the centralized crypto exchanges accounted for most of the losses.

Crypto Hacks and Scams Increases in Q2 of 2024

The Immunefi observed that towards the end of Q1, the crypto crimes had dropped significantly. The research company noted that in Q1, crypto losses from scams and hacks dropped by 23%.

The sudden drop in crypto losses was witnessed in April and May. The Immunefi noted that the DDM attack contributed to increased crypto losses. 

The DDM attack resulted in a loss of $305 million after the attackers compromised 31 private keys. On June 22, the BtcTruck was hit by a $55 million exploit.

This demonstrated that BtcTruck and DDM  increased crypto-hack losses by 62% in Q2. The Immunefi noted that attackers were targeting to steal from centralized exchanges since CEXs depend on intermediaries to complete a crypto transaction. 

The report indicated that centralized exchanges lost around $401 million, a 70% increase from Q1. The Immunefi team noted that the attackers launched multiple exploits targeting centralized exchanges, but only a few were successful. 

The researchers observed that only five attacks targeting centralized exchanges were successful. Conversely, the hackers exploited around 62 decentralized exchanges.

The Immunefi noted that due to the decentralized nature of DEXs, these exchanges have strengthened their security protocols to prevent crypto-related scams and hacks.

Criminals’ Targets to Exploit Ethereum-Based Projects

The Immunefi noted that the DEXs lost nearly $171 million, 2.5% less than the losses in Q3 of 2023. The investigators observed that criminals targeted projects built on Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain networks.

In a recent study, Ethereum and BNB accounted for nearly 71% of losses. The Immunefi stated that the criminals also targeted the Ethereum layer 2 networks such as Abritrum. They noted that almost 5.5% of the losses were lost on the Abritrum network. 

Other Ethereum layer 2 that suffered substantial losses include Blast and Optimism. Immunefi observed that other blockchain networks accounted for 15% of losses. 

An announcement conveyed by the head of communication at Immunefi, Jonah Michaels, noted that Ethereum had been home to most DeFi-related activities and that most crypto assets are locked on this network. 

This makes Ethereum to be most targeted by the hackers. Based on Ethereum’s features, hackers use this network to launder stolen funds.

Factors Contributing to Crypto Crime

Elsewhere, the founder of Immunefi, Mitchell Amador, stated that Q2 of 2024 suffered huge losses. The executive encouraged the centralized exchanges to invest in enhancing their security to prevent financial losses. 

Amador noted that the recent attacks have impacted the loss of millions. The official said the number of attacks on CeFi was higher than those on DeFi. He advised the key industry players to prioritize the security of the CeFi infrastructures to prevent losses. 

Even though some of the assets stolen by hackers were later recovered, the executive emphasized the need to implement adequate security measures. Citing the Gala Games  $200 million attack, Amador noted that the company had recovered nearly $22 million. 

The executive noted that security experts and law enforcers have played a critical role in supporting the recovery of stolen funds. A report from Gala Games investigators reveals that the exploiters failed to shift his virtual private network to untraceable status. 

This made it easy for the probing team to identify the perpetrator behind the Gala Games attack.  Apart from the Gala Games incident, the Immunefi team noted that Alex Labs, Bloom, and Yolo Games recovered stolen funds.