The Most Damaging Crypto Hacks of 2024: Over $2.2B Lost to Exploits

Crypto hacks reached alarming new heights in 2024, with cybercriminals stealing more than $2.2 billion through various attacks. This marks a concerning 22% increase from 2023’s losses of $1.8 billion, highlighting growing vulnerabilities in both centralized exchanges and decentralized protocols.

Major Exchange Breaches Define 2024 Attacks

The year’s largest breach targeted DMM Bitcoin, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, resulting in a staggering $300 million theft. The attackers likely exploited compromised private keys or used address poisoning techniques, where they created misleading transaction histories to trick users. This incident ranks as the eighth-largest cryptocurrency theft in history.

Other significant exchange attacks included WazirX’s $230 million loss and BingX’s $43 million breach. In the WazirX case, hackers bypassed the exchange’s multi-signature security by manipulating transaction displays on their custody platform.

Evidence suggests involvement from the Lazarus Group, a North Korean hacking operation known for targeting crypto platforms.

Understanding 2024’s Crypto Hacks and Attack Patterns

Security experts identified several recurring attack methods throughout the year:

• Multi-signature wallet compromises: Attackers found ways to trick authorized signers into approving malicious transactions by manipulating interface displays
• Smart contract vulnerabilities: Projects like Munchables lost $62.5 million due to flaws in their upgradeable proxy contracts
• Price oracle manipulation: UwU Lend suffered a $20 million loss when attackers exploited their price feed system
• Flash loan attacks: Multiple protocols lost funds through complex trading maneuvers that manipulated asset prices temporarily
• Reentrancy exploits: The Penpie protocol lost $27 million when attackers found ways to call vulnerable functions repeatedly

What’s particularly concerning is the sophistication of these attacks. Many involved complex, multi-step operations that combined technical expertise with social engineering. For example, the Radiant Capital hack used malware to alter transaction data displays while maintaining a seemingly legitimate appearance to signers.

The rise in successful attacks against both centralized and decentralized platforms suggests that current security measures aren’t keeping pace with attacker capabilities. This trend emphasizes the urgent need for more robust security systems, regular smart contract audits, and improved transaction verification processes across the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Despite some projects offering bounties to recover stolen funds, most attacks ended with permanent losses. This pattern underscores the importance of proactive security measures over reactive responses in protecting digital assets.

Make money without lifting your fingers: Start using a world-class auto trading solution