Crypto Hacks Cost $176 Million in June, a 54% Drop from May

There was a major decline in crypto hacks in June, with losses totaling $176 million, according to recent PeckShield data. June numbers mark a 54.2% drop from the staggering $385 million thieves stole in May.

PeckShield revealed that over 20 security breaches occurred in June.

Crypto Hacks Slow Down in June, A Rare Bright Spot

The largest hack in June targeted the BtcTurk crypto exchange, with hackers stealing over $100 million in crypto assets. Following closely was the UK centralized exchange Lykke, which suffered a $22 million loss.

The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector also suffered, with lending protocol UwU hacked for $19.4 million, ranking as the third-largest exploit of the month.

#PeckShieldAlert June 2024 witnessed 20+ hacks in the crypto space, resulting in ~$176.2 million in losses. This marks a decrease of 54.2% from May 2024 (w/ ~$385m in hackers' profits).#Top 5 Hacks:#Btctruk: $100.25 million (CeFi)#Lykke: $22 million (CeFi)#UwULend: $19.4… pic.twitter.com/83XzWf82kw

— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) July 1, 2024

In contrast, May recorded about $385 million in losses, the highest so far in 2024. The Japan-based DMM crypto exchange hack resulted in a $305 million theft, the biggest case in May.

The predominant attack vectors included flash loan exploits, exit scams, and other technical vulnerabilities.

Despite these setbacks, blockchain security experts recovered approximately $96.2 million, offering some reassurance to the crypto community.

2024 Crypto Hack Trends vs. 2023

Crypto hacks continue to besiege the industry as the incidents seem to wax stronger, with more funds being lost to scammers.

According to research from blockchain security platform Immunefi, Q2 2024 saw a staggering $572 million in losses from crypto scams, more than doubling the $220 million lost in the same period of 2023.

Centralized exchanges were the primary targets, accounting for most losses. The DMM Bitcoin and BtcTurk hacks accounted for over 62% of the quarter’s total losses.

As previously reported by CryptoNews, CeFi suffered $401M in losses in Q2 this year, an insane 984% increase compared to the same period in 2023.

While DeFi protocols saw a higher frequency of incidents, losses were lower at $171 million, down 25% from Q2 2023.

The Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain networks were prime targets, accounting for 71% of total losses. A new trend saw Ethereum layer 2 solutions gaining unwanted attention from malicious actors, however.

Arbitrum, in particular, became the third most targeted network, suffering four incidents and 5.5% of total losses.

Despite the grim outlook, there were some small victories, as some of the stolen funds were recovered. Protocols such as Gala Games, Alex Labs, Bloom, and Yolo Games managed to reclaim most of their lost assets.

These recoveries, while encouraging, represented only about 5% of the total losses for the quarter.