The cryptocurrency industry has witnessed a concerning trend in recent months, with an increase in offline robberies targeting prominent figures in the crypto community. While online hacks have seen a significant decline, physical threats and violence have become a growing concern.
ZachXBT, a security researcher, has warned of a rise in cryptocurrency thefts across Western Europe, where individuals have been targeted at gunpoint for their cryptocurrency holdings. Hong Kong and Singapore have also experienced similar attacks.
Online Cryptocurrency Thefts Decline
However, the landscape of cybercrime within the crypto industry has shown positive developments. According to data from Immunefi, losses from hacks decreased by 38% in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the previous year, and fraud losses plummeted by 86%.
Despite this overall decline, the report revealed that a total of $410 million was lost to hacks across 31 specific incidents, while $3 million was lost to fraud across three incidents. WazirX, India’s leading domestic crypto exchange, suffered the largest loss, with over $230 million stolen in a hack. BingX, a Singapore-based crypto exchange, also experienced a significant loss of $52 million.
With nearly $90 billion in capital locked across Web3 protocols, the space remains an attractive target for hackers. Immunefi’s CEO, Mitchell Amador, noted that DeFi protocols are increasingly targeted, while CeFi incidents, though fewer, often result in more substantial losses.
Amador emphasized the importance of rigorous key management practices to prevent such attacks, as private key management remains a critical vulnerability in CeFi. The report found that nearly $15 million in stolen funds has been recovered, but this recovery rate is lower than previous quarters.
The number of individual successful attacks also decreased by 54% in the past quarter. Ethereum (ETH) and Binance’s BNB Chain were among the most targeted blockchains.
