Hackers swipe approx US$2.5b in YTD crypto thefts

An estimated US$2.5 billion in cryptocurrency has fallen victim to scams just in the year-to-date and the average loss per crypto crime has jumped by 170 per cent year-on-year, reflecting the increasing size and sophistication of scams according to crypto wallet app, Best Wallet.

This year’s result to-date also came in $800 million more than last year’s and marks the third-highest figure on record, with the average loss per crypto crime hitting $25.6 million.

“Although tightened rules and improved blockchain tracking tools have cut the number of crypto scams, they have become bigger and more sophisticated,” the report from Best Wallet said.

“[The data] shows a clear shift in how crypto crime works, with hackers causing more damage in fewer but bigger, more professional attacks, often targeting DeFi protocols, centralized platforms, or big investor pools. The average loss per crypto crime, based on Comparitech data, shows just how big that shift has become.

“Between 2015 and 2020, the crypto space saw up to 50 reported heists per year, but the annual losses varied widely from only $8.5 million in 2015 to a staggering $1.22 billion in 2018. Due to the relatively low number of reported crimes that year, 2018 still holds the record, with an average loss per crime of $29 million.

“After a short slowdown in 2019 and 2020, when both the number of heists and total losses dropped significantly, the trend reversed again in 2021. That year alone, hackers stole $2.73 billion in 136 heists, pushing the average loss per crypto crime to $20 million.”

The data also indicated that in 1,118 reported thefts crypto criminals have stolen US$15.3 billion, with 80 per cent of these losses seen in just the last five years. Best Wallet also said the value of all the stolen crypto would be worth around $53.3 billion today.