US$2.2 billion (A$3.5 billion) in cryptocurrency has been stolen in 2024, a year-over-year increase of 21%.
This is the fourth consecutive year where more than US$1 billion worth of cryptocurrency has been stolen, according to a report by Chainalysis. A total of 303 individual hacking incidents were registered this year, 21 more than in 2023.
“As crypto adoption and prices rise, so too does the amount that can be stolen,” according to Chainalysis.
The rate of cryptocurrency hacking slowed significantly after July this year. US$1.58 billion in cryptocurrency was stolen between January and July, 84.4% higher than the same period in 2023.
Decentralised finance platforms represented the largest share of stolen assets in 2024’s first and fourth quarters, while centralised services like DMM Bitcoin and WazirX saw the most funds stolen in Q2 and Q3.
The most common cryptocurrency hacking method was private key compromises, representing 43.8% of this year’s total. Another 25.5% of hacking methods remained unknown.
“For centralized services, ensuring the security of private keys is critical, as they control access to users’ assets,” said Chainalysis. “Given that centralized exchanges manage substantial amounts of user funds, the impact of a private key compromise can be devastating; we only have to look at the $305 million DMM Bitcoin hack, which is one of the largest crypto exploits to date, and may have occurred due to private key mismanagement or lack of adequate security.”
North Korea-affiliated hackers stole US$1.34 billion in cryptocurrency in 2024, across 47 hacking incidents largely concentrated in Q1 and Q2. These hackers stole US$1 billion over 20 hacks in 2023.
“The DPRK [North Korea] has been consistently responsible over the last three years for most large-size exploits,” according to Chainalysis.