2024 Crypto Losses Hit $1.49 Billion Despite Enhanced Security Measures

According to the latest Immunefi report, crypto losses from hacks and scams reached $1.49 billion in 2024, marking a 17% decrease from the previous year’s $1.8 billion. This improvement suggests that security measures are becoming more effective, though significant challenges remain in protecting digital assets.

Two Major Incidents Define 2024’s Crypto Losses

The year’s biggest attacks targeted centralized exchanges, with DMM Bitcoin and WazirX suffering combined losses of $540 million.

DMM Bitcoin, a Japanese exchange, lost $305 million in May due to a private key compromise. WazirX, India’s leading crypto exchange, faced a $235 million breach in July when attackers compromised its Safe Multisig wallet on Ethereum. These two incidents alone made up 36% of all crypto losses in 2024.

North Korean hackers played a significant role in the year’s attacks, allegedly responsible for breaches at WazirX and Radiant Capital, stealing a combined $285 million. Their sophisticated approaches included compromising infrastructure and using social engineering tactics, such as sending malware-loaded PDFs to company engineers.

The report highlights an interesting shift in attack patterns. While decentralized finance (DeFi) remained the primary target with 51.4% of total losses, centralized finance (CeFi) platforms faced unexpectedly large breaches, accounting for 48.6% of losses despite fewer incidents. This marks the first time since 2021 that CeFi platforms have experienced such significant losses.

Blockchain networks Ethereum and BNB Chain bore the brunt of attacks. Ethereum saw 104 incidents, representing 44% of total losses, while BNB Chain experienced 71 attacks, accounting for 39% of losses. Arbitrum ranked third with 16 incidents making up 6.8% of total losses.

On a positive note, the industry showed improved recovery capabilities. About $115.5 million was recovered from stolen funds across 14 specific situations, representing 7.7% of total losses. The total number of successful attacks also decreased by 27.5% year-over-year, dropping from 320 in 2023 to 232 in 2024.

Looking ahead, experts predict increased use of artificial intelligence and machine learning tools in both attack and defense strategies. The rise of DeSec (decentralized security) is expected to bring new tokenized security products to market, potentially offering better protection against future attacks.

These findings emphasize the ongoing need for robust security measures in the cryptocurrency sector, particularly as the total value locked in DeFi protocols grew significantly, reaching $137 billion in 2024.

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