Crypto Ecosystem Lost $269M to Hackers in July, 87% Stolen in Single CeFi Hack
In July 2024, the crypto ecosystem lost nearly $269.5 million in 14 specific hacking incidents, according to the latest report by major bug bounty and security services platform Immunefi. Notably, centralized finance (CeFi) surpassed decentralized finance (DeFi) with a single incident.
Crypto Hacks Stay in the Lead
Immunefi found that July saw $269,439,252 stolen in fourteen specific hacks and fraud incidents. This is a 90% increase month-over-month. Additionally, it’s a 15.9% decrease from July 2023, when registered losses stood at $320,498,660.
The majority of the stolen sum is the result of only two projects. Indian crypto exchange WazirX lost $235 million in a hack, while LI.FI protocol, a platform to swap and bridge across major blockchains and protocols, lost $10 million in a security breach.
Hacks were still the predominant cause of losses in July. Hackers stole $266,481,700 across 12 incidents. On the other hand, fraudsters stole $2,957,552 across two incidents. Therefore, fraud accounted for only 1.1% of the total losses in July, while hacks accounted for 98.9%.
Meanwhile, the report found that the space lost $1,190,379,330 to hacks and rug pulls in 2024 year-to-date (YTD) in 149 specific incidents. This is a 16.3% increase when compared with the same period in 2023. The sum at the time stood at $1,023,463,722.
Centralized Finance and North Korean Crypto Hackers in Focus
Immunefi found that CeFi again surpassed DeFi in July. DeFi suffered $34,439,252 in total losses in July across eleven incidents. However, CeFi represented 87% of the total volume of funds lost. It lost $235,000,000 in a single incident.
“Most of the losses in 2024 are attributed to attacks targeting CeFi infrastructure,” the report noted. Over $636 million of the $1.19 billion stolen in 2024 YTD is attributed to CeFi.
Additionally, the infamous North Korean Lazarus Group made a major comeback. It seems that this group is behind the WazirX hack. Also, the DMM Bitcoin hack in May has been linked to the Lazarus Group. The hackers began laundering the funds in July.
Overall, Lazarus – affiliated with the North Korean government – has been linked to some of the largest attacks within the crypto ecosystem, the report said. This includes Atomic Wallet, CoinEx, Alphapo, Stake, and CoinsPaid.
Main Targets: Ethereum and BNB Chain
Unsurprisingly, Ethereum and BNB Chain were the most targeted chains in July. These represent 71.4% of the total losses across targeted chains. Ethereum suffered the most individual attacks. It saw seven incidents, representing 50% of the total losses across targeted chains. At the same time, BNB Chain saw three incidents, which is 21.4% of the losses. Scroll and Base suffered one incident each. They represent 7.1% of the total losses.
Meanwhile, Immunefi offers over $157 million in available bounty rewards. So far, it has paid out over $100 million in total bounties while saving over $25 billion in user funds, the team noted.
