 Crypto hacks wipe out $2.3B in 2024, marking 40% YoY surge 
2024-12-24
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Cryptocurrency hackers surpassed the previous year’s achievements, stealing over $2.3 billion worth of value from the Web3 ecosystem — a concerning sign for the industry’s mainstream acceptance.
Cryptocurrency hacks saw a sharp uptick in 2024, driven by the appeal of growing cryptocurrency valuations, after Bitcoin BTCUSD surpassed the $100,000 mark for the first time on Dec. 6.
During 2024, crypto hackers stole over $2.3 billion worth of assets across 165 incidents, marking a 40% increase compared to 2023, when hackers stole $1.69 billion worth of crypto, according to a report shared by onchain security firm Cyvers.
The 40% increase is mainly attributed to the rise of access control breaches, particularly in centralized exchanges (CEXs) and crypto custodians, according to Deddy Lavid, co-founder and CEO of Cyvers.
Lavid told Cointelegraph:
Despite the 40% increase compared to the previous year, the $2.36 billion is still 37% below the record $3.78 billion stolen during 2022.
Access control breaches resulted in $1.9B lost to crypto hacks
Access control vulnerabilities accounted for $1.9 billion worth of value stolen in 2024, or over 81% of the total amount lost to crypto hacks, across 67 individual cybersecurity incidents.
In contrast, smart contract exploits resulted in $456 million stolen across 98 incidents, as the second-largest attack vector responsible for 19% of the value lost in 2024.
Address poisoning scams were the third most popular type of attack, netting over $68.7 million worth of stolen funds for crypto hackers.
To avoid another multi-billion hacking year in 2025, the industry needs to prioritize more robust security practices, such as private key management with offline storage and real-time threat monitoring systems, according to Cyvers’ Lavid, who added:
North Korean hackers to start targeting Bitcoin ETFs in 2025: Cyvers
However, the industry must remain vigilant, as North Korean hackers may begin targeting larger objectives, such as the United States spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to Michael Pearl, vice president of GTM strategy at onchain security company Cyvers.
Pearl told Cointelegraph in an exclusive interview:
Cyvers’ Michael Pearl, interview with Cointelegraph’s Zoltan Vardai, clip 1. Source: Cointelegraph