The crypto ecosystem faced a dramatic surge in hacks in July 2024, with PeckShield reporting losses amounting to $266 million across 16 incidents. This marks a significant rise compared to the previous month.
The most substantial breach occurred at WazirX, a centralized crypto exchange based in India, which suffered a staggering $230 million loss. This attack was attributed to the North Korea-backed Lazarus Group, known for its sophisticated cyber attacks. The group laundered the stolen funds through crypto-mixing services like Tornado Cash. In response, WazirX halted operations and offered a $23 million bounty to incentivize the return of the stolen assets. The exchange also proposed a “socialized loss strategy” to distribute the financial impact among all users.
Other notable incidents included:
- Compound: The algorithmic protocol faced a potential governance attack, resulting in $24 million in losses.
- LI.FI: This bridging protocol lost $9.73 million.
- Bittensor: A decentralized AI protocol, which suffered an $8 million loss.
- RhoMarkets: A liquidity provider, faced a $7.6 million breach but managed to recover a significant portion of its funds.
- DeltaPrime: A decentralized lending platform, lost $1 million but also recovered some funds.
- Terra: Suffered a $4 million hack.
- DoughFina: Faced $1.86 million in losses.
- Minterest: Lost $1.4 million.
- MonoSwap: Suffered a $1.3 million breach.
Most of the stolen funds were transferred to Tornado Cash, making it difficult to trace the hackers. In June, the crypto sector saw fewer losses, totaling $176 million across 20 cases.
In addition to these exploits, exit scams in the crypto space resulted in nearly $3 million in losses last month, according to another blockchain security firm, CertiK.
This series of events highlights the ongoing security challenges in the crypto industry, emphasizing the need for robust protective measures and rapid response strategies to safeguard digital assets.
Disclaimer: The information provided on CoinsLately is for informational and educational purposes only. CoinsLately does not provide investment, financial, or legal advice. The content on this site represents the opinions and views of the authors and should not be considered as professional financial advice.
Cryptocurrency investments are highly speculative and involve substantial risk. You should conduct your own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. CoinsLately and its authors are not responsible for any financial losses or damages incurred as a result of the information provided on this site.
