- Stealing funds and ransomware have been constantly growing, as per Chianalysis’s recent.
- The average amount that the industry lost per heist grew more than 75% YTD (year to date).
- Between early 2023 and mid-June 2024, cybercriminals increased the median ransom payment from approximately $200k to $1.5 million.
In 2024, the broader cryptocurrency market mirrored dozens of unprecedented events, including massive digital asset hacks, scams, and frauds. However, the market is constantly reflecting a bullish sentiment.
Stealing funds and ransomware have been growing since the beginning of 2024, as per Chianalysis’s recent. Scammers and fraudsters in the broader crypto market target the centralized ecosystem more than DEXs.
The ransomware category registered a spike of 2%, reaching $459.8 Million, but it never reached this milestone. The average amount that the industry lost per heist grew more than 75% YTD (year to date).
As per claims, most events are linked to dark web professionals and bad actors from North Korea. 2024 has recorded the highest number of ransomware payments ever recorded at approximately $75 Million to dark web groups.
Cybercriminals are shifting their strategy, carrying out fewer high-profile ransomware attacks but collecting significantly larger payments.
According to the update, cybercriminals between early 2023 and mid-June 2024 increased the median ransom payment from approximately $200k to $1.5 million.
Eric Jardine, cybercrimes research lead at Chainalysis, stated in an email to Bloomberg: “The increase in crypto asset prices this year has likely driven a large part of the growth in value stolen.”
Major Crypto Heist 2024
WazirX, a leading centralized crypto exchange headquartered in India, went through a breach, resulting in over $230 Million in losses in digital assets.
On-chain experts claim that the theft was backed by the Lazarus Group, which opeartes from North Korea.
The North Korean hackers group is troubling digital assets at the verge, with a contribution of +45% digital asset heists annually.
Ronin Bridge, the sidechain of Axie Infinity based on Ethereum, has been the target of hackers since the beginning of August 2024.
In this incident, the sidechain mirrored a Wipeout of $9.33 Million; this was the 2nd attempt in March 2022, when the Ronin Bridge was hacked for $266 Million in digital assets.
It is important to note that the Ether chain is one of the most targeted hackers, followed by the BNB chain.
The Ethereum chain faced 37 attacks in Q2, 2024, losing millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies. In Q2 2024, the ETH chain faced more attacks than the BNB chain.
There is speculation that these chains are affected the most because most crypto projects are listed on both chains. Compound Finance, a decentralized lending and borrowing platform, faced potential governance attacks resulting in $24 Million in losses in crypto.
Gala Games, a blockchain gaming ecosystem, was compromised by hackers, resulting in a heist of $22 Million. The hackers traded 600 Million Gala tokens for 5,193 ETH.
Cyvers, a blockchain analysis and security firm, reported on August 07, 2024, that Nexera blockchain suffered a breach resulting in a loot of $1.8 Million. 2024 alone pushed the crypto market to $266 Million in losses in 16 attacks.
Crypto Market Price Update
The fear & greed index by CoinMarketCap is at 41, reflecting neutrality; however, in 2024, the market has reached new heights.
Bitcoin (BTC) recorded its all-time high in March 2024; at the time of writing, it is trading at $58,523. Although in August 2024, BTC prices have suffered a lot, currently 7.13% in negative compared to its price 30 days ago.
Market watchers believe that the positivity in the market is backed by the presence of traditional banking and finance giants and the launch of investment funds for different cryptocurrencies.
Fantom (FTM) price recorded a spike of 8.91% in the past 24 hours, making it at the top of the intraday gainers list.
