Crypto Thieves Score Big on Centralized Services and Private Keys in 2024
According to a recent report by Chainalysis, losses from crypto scams, hacks, and exploits increased by approximately 21% year-over-year in 2024. Threat actors paid particular attention to centralized services and private keys, leading to significant financial losses.
Notable Crypto Hacks and Exploits in 2024
- In July, the Indian exchange WazirX was hacked, resulting in losses of $235 million.
- In May, the Japanese exchange DMM suffered a private key hack, losing $305 million in Bitcoin (BTC).
- In February, South Korean NFT and game development platform PlayDapp experienced a private key leak, resulting in losses of around $290 million.
- In April, decentralized finance (DeFi) network Hedgey Finance was exploited for $44 million.
- In June, Turkish exchange BtcTurk suffered a hot wallet attack, losing up to $55 million.
- In September, Singaporean exchange BingX was hacked for $52 million.
Centralized Entities Become Prominent Targets
In 2024, we saw a significant shift in crypto attacks, with centralized entities becoming far more prominent targets. According to Jean Rausis, cybersecurity expert and co-founder of DeFi ecosystem SmarDex:
"In 2024, we saw a big shift in crypto attacks, with centralized entities becoming far more prominent targets."
Private Key Compromises Account for Largest Share of Stolen Crypto
Chainalysis found that private key compromises accounted for the largest share of stolen crypto in 2024, at 43.8%. The $305 million DMM Bitcoin hack is a prime example of this issue.
"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," said Chainalysis.
Small-Scale Hacks and Scams
While these headline-making catastrophes receive significant attention, there have been hundreds of
