The interest in cryptocurrencies is diminishing worldwide; the NFTs market is dwindling, and Bitcoin is experiencing the biggest price drop in 11 years. Yet, cybercriminals continue to make billions by targeting various crypto projects.
$1.97B was looted from 175 crypto project hacks
According to the data analyzed by the Atlas VPN team, based on the numbers provided by Slowmist Hacked, cybercriminals looted $1.97 billion from 175 crypto project hacks in the first half of 2022. The Ethereum ecosystem suffered the most, with more than $1 billion stolen in 32 events.
Monetary losses were calculated based on the conversion rate of a particular cryptocurrency at the time of a hack or scam event. The Solana ecosystem occupies the second spot on the list. Cybercriminals stole $383.9 million from Solana-related projects in only 5 events.
Next up is the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) ecosystem, with $141.4 million in losses. In total, the BSC ecosystem faced 47 hack and scam events in the first half of this year; more than any other crypto project. Meanwhile, non-fungible token (NFT) projects earned cybercriminals $84.6 million in 45 events, while the Fantom ecosystem brought in $54.8 million in 8 events.
If we compare this year and last year’s numbers, cybercrime numbers affecting crypto projects rose by 94%, from 90 in H1 2021 to 175 in H1 2022. Q1 of 2022 saw 79 cybercrime events; 108% more than Q1 2021 with 38 events. In the meantime, Q2 of 2022 had 96 cybercrime events, an 85% rise from 52 in Q2 2021. Overall, cybercrime events increased by over a fifth (22%) from the first quarter of this year to the second.