On Friday, blockchain experts TRM Labs reported that a few massive attacks and surging crypto prices more than doubled the amount of bitcoin stolen in hacks worldwide in the first half of 2024
According to a report by TRM Labs, hackers had plundered over $1.38 billion in cryptocurrency by June 24, 2024, as opposed to $657 million during the same period in 2023.
According to the report, the median larceny was 1.5 times greater than the previous year of data.
“While we have not seen any fundamental changes in the security of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, we have seen a significant increase in the value of various tokens – from bitcoin to ETH (ether) and Solana – compared to the same time last year,” said Ari Redbord, the global head of policy at TRM Laboratories.
According to Redbord, this implies that cybercriminals are more inclined to target crypto services and can extract more money when they do.
Cryptocurrency prices have generally rebounded from the lows reached in late 2022 due to the bankruptcy of FTX, the crypto exchange owned by Sam Bankman-Fried. Bitcoin achieved an all-time peak of $73,803.25 in March of this year.
The Japanese crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin’s “unauthorized leak” resulted in the theft of approximately $308 million in Bitcoin, one of the most significant crypto losses of the year.
Despite the rarity of losses of this magnitude, cryptocurrency companies are frequently the targets of breaches and cyberattacks.
Redbord reported that the volume of stolen cryptocurrency in 2022 was approximately $900 million, with over $600 million stolen from a blockchain network associated with the online game Axie Infinity. The theft has been associated with North Korean hackers by the United States.
The United Nations is accusing North Korea of employing cyber attacks to help finance its nuclear and missile programs. North Korea has previously denied allegations of hacking and other forms of sabotage.