$2 Billion in Cryptocurrency Stolen by Hackers in 2023, New Data Reveals

Hackers stole about $2 billion in crypto this year, marking a noticeable decrease from previous years, according to crypto security firms.

This year, hackers targeted crypto in cyberattacks and thefts, resulting in approximately $2 billion in stolen funds. De.FI, a web3 security firm that operates the Rekt leaderboard, reported on various incidents in their report shared with TechCrunch. The largest incident in history was the breach of the Ronin network in 2022, where hackers stole more than $600 million in crypto. The most recent hack was against Mixin Network this year, netting hackers around $200 million.

“This amount reinforces the ongoing vulnerabilities and challenges within the DeFi ecosystem,” De.Fi wrote in its report, attributing the lower haul to both ongoing vulnerabilities and strides made in addressing them. The report also noted that interest in the space was relatively muted by the ongoing bear market in the first half of the year.

Earlier in December, TRM Labs estimated that hackers had stolen about $1.7 billion in crypto this year. In addition to the significant breaches, hackers targeted Euler Finance, Multichain, BonqDAO, Poloniex, Atomic Wallet, and others, resulting in additional stolen funds.

In the previous year, cybercriminals stole an all-time record of around $3.8 billion in crypto, with $1.7 billion stolen by North Korean government hackers. The year before that, hackers stole $3.3 billion.

Despite the decrease in thefts this year, the industry remains vulnerable due to poor security measures, making it likely that hackers will continue targeting the growing industry in the future.