Crypto Losses in Q3 2024: A Rollercoaster Ride for Digital Assets

The crypto world has seen its fair share of ups and downs, but the third quarter of 2024 brought some eye-opening numbers to light. According to a new report by Immunefi, a leading security platform in the crypto space, crypto losses in the digital asset ecosystem summed up to a whopping $413 million from July to September 2024.

This figure might make your jaw drop, but believe it or not, it’s actually a 40% decrease compared to the same period last year.

Let’s break down these crypto losses and see what’s really going on behind the scenes.

Biggest Source of Crypto Losses: Hacks vs. Frauds

When it comes to losing crypto, hacks are still the biggest threat. They made up a massive 99.3% of all losses in Q3 2024, totaling about $410 million. On the flip side, frauds only accounted for 0.8% of losses, which is roughly $3 million. It’s clear that hackers are getting smarter, but the good news is that fraud seems to be on the decline.

Centralized Finance (CeFi) platforms took the hardest hit this quarter, accounting for 75% of all losses. That’s a big jump from last year and shows that these platforms are becoming prime targets for hackers.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) projects, on the other hand, only made up 25% of the losses. This shift suggests that hackers might be finding bigger paydays in centralized systems.

Two major crypto exchanges bore the brunt of the attacks this quarter. WazirX, an Indian exchange, lost a staggering $235 million in a single hack. Not far behind was BingX, a Singapore-based exchange, which lost $52 million. These two incidents alone made up almost 70% of all losses in Q3 2024, showing just how vulnerable exchanges can be.

When it comes to blockchain networks, Ethereum and BNB Chain were the most targeted. Ethereum saw 15 separate attacks, while BNB Chain had 8. These two chains accounted for over two-thirds of all losses across different networks. It’s a reminder that even the biggest and most popular blockchains aren’t immune to attacks.

A Silver Lining: Recovery Efforts

It’s not all doom and gloom, though. About $15 million of the stolen funds were recovered, which is about 3.6% of the total losses. While this might seem small, it’s a step in the right direction and shows that recovery efforts are ongoing.

Looking at the bigger picture, the total losses in crypto for the first nine months of 2024 stand at $1.33 billion. That’s actually a slight decrease from the same period last year.

Could this be a sign that the crypto world is getting better at protecting itself? Only time will tell, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on as we move into the final quarter of the year.