In January 2024, despite significant developments, the month also witnessed substantial crypto losses attributed to exploits, hacks, and scams. According to a recent post on January 31, 2024, by the security firm CertiK Alert on X (formerly Twitter), summarizing all the incidents throughout January 2024, the crypto industry incurred over $77 million in losses.
Crypto loss of $77 million in January 2024
This year in 2024, the total crypto loss has surged by over 135% compared to January 2023, with phishing accounting for $29.6 million. Analyzing the $77 million crypto loss, it is evident that the maximum loss occurred due to an exploit worth $57.8 million, followed by Flash loans worth $15.3 million and losses due to exit scams amounting to $4.3 million.
Major firms that fell victim to these crypto losses include Somesing, losing $11.5 million; Coinspaid, losing $7.5 million; Magic Internet, losing $6.3 million; RDNT Capital, losing $4.5 million; Phishing Victim (wallet address 0xbA8B), losing $4.5 million; Phishing Victim (wallet address 0x1749), losing $4.2 million; Gamma Strategies, losing $3.4 million; Socket Tech, losing $3.3 million; another Phishing Victim (wallet address 0xe7B0), losing $3 million; and one more Phishing Victim (wallet address 0xea5), losing $2.7 million. All these entities experienced significant losses due to exploits, hacks, and scams.
Overall $80 billion in Crypto losses till now
Up to now, the overall crypto losses in the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency industry due to exploits, hacks, and scams amount to approximately $80 billion. Out of these losses, only $6 billion worth of crypto has been recovered, representing around 7% of the total loss, according to data from the REKT Database.
It has been discovered that most crypto hacks or exploits are carried out by North Korean hackers. According to the blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis in 2023, these hackers were responsible for more than $1 billion worth of crypto hacks. Interestingly, despite their involvement in these illicit activities, they also hold a significant amount of TRON. The well-known North Korean hacking group, Lazarus Group, possesses over $40 million worth of Bitcoin, along with more than 137 million TRON (TRX) tokens.
Considering the surge in hacks and scams, on December 8, 2023, the United States, South Korea, and Japan convened a meeting in Seoul to address these illicit activities. The primary concern is that the stolen crypto assets are consistently utilized to support North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile program, along with other illicit activities.
