July sees surge in crypto hacks, $266 million lost in 16 major breaches

The cryptocurrency sector faced a significant security crisis in July 2024, as hackers orchestrated 16 major breaches that resulted in approximately $266 million in stolen assets. 

This dramatic spike in thefts highlights a concerning trend, with July’s losses surpassing June’s $176 million across 20 incidents.

Major breaches and victims

The most notable attack occurred on July 18, when Indian crypto exchange WazirX was breached, leading to a staggering loss of over $230 million—accounting for 86.4% of the month’s total losses. 

Investigations suggest North Korean cybercriminals may have been behind this massive hack. 

According to blockchain security firm PeckShield, the stolen WazirX funds, totaling 61,154 Ether, were still under the hackers’ control as of August 1.

Other significant victims in July included Compound Finance, which lost $24 million, and the bridging protocol Li.Fi, which suffered a $10 million theft. 

Additionally, decentralized AI protocol Bittensor and liquidity provider Rho Markets each experienced $8 million in losses. 

Many of the stolen assets were funneled through the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash, a common tactic employed by hackers to obscure the origins of stolen funds and evade detection.

Terra blockchain hit by $6 million hack

At the end of July, the Terra blockchain faced a major security incident. 

Hackers exploited a known vulnerability, leading to the theft of 60 million ASTRO tokens, 500,000 USD, 3.5 million USD Coin, and 2.7 Bitcoin, totaling a loss of $6 million. 

The attack forced Terra to halt operations temporarily at block height 11430400. 

Developers responded quickly with an emergency chain upgrade, resuming block production the same day. 

Terra’s team reported that validators holding over 67% of the voting power had updated their nodes to prevent future exploits, with additional validators expected to follow suit.

Deddy Lavid, co-founder and CEO of Web3 security firm Cyvers, noted a troubling shift in hacker targets for 2024. 

Centralized finance (CeFi) entities have emerged as primary targets, with an increasing number of attacks aimed at smart contract-based projects. 

Lavid attributed these breaches to both coding vulnerabilities and personal negligence.

Record recovery rate amidst persistent threats

Despite the surge in hacks and scams, the crypto market has shown resilience. 

The second quarter of 2024 saw a record recovery rate of 77% for stolen funds. 

According to Hacken’s Web3 Security Report Q2 2024, $347.4 million out of $512.9 million lost in thefts were successfully recovered or frozen. 

The report highlighted that “for the second consecutive quarter, the amount of recovered funds provides a silver lining amid the alarming theft rates.”

However, the threat of cryptocurrency scams persists, with platforms like X (formerly Twitter) continuing to be a hotspot for fraudulent activities. 

Scam Sniffer, a web3 anti-scam company, revealed that nearly $50 million is lost each month due to account impersonation on the platform.

This surge in crypto thefts underscores the need for enhanced security measures and vigilance within the industry.

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