In the first three months of 2022, Hackers stole nearly $700 million in cryptocurrency.
Crypto-related cybercrime numbers have continued to rise as more and more people are getting into digital currency.
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var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_48737373", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"983169"} }); ","_id":"0000017f-e06c-d62e-a37f-ea6f2ada0000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video Embed”Blockchain-related hack events have reached an all-time high of 72 in Q1 2022,” Atlas VPN claimed in a report released on Thursday. “It represents a 118% increase in hacks compared to the first quarter of 2021. With the rise of new crypto ecosystems, cybercriminals get more targets they can exploit.”
$600 MILLION STOLEN FROM VIDEO GAME IN SECOND-LARGEST CRYPTO HACK
An estimated $672 million worth of cryptocurrency was stolen across 72 incidents in the first quarter, according to Atlas VPN, which developed its analysis through data provided by the security firm SlowMist Hacked.
“The growing market of cryptocurrencies entices not only legit people interested in the technology but also cybercriminals who want to exploit it,” Atlas VPN argued.
The majority of thefts involved Solana and Binance Smart Chain. More than $400 million was stolen from Solana, while $100 million was stolen from Binance Smart Chain, the report claims.
The highest number of crypto-affiliated projects stolen were NFTs, according to the report. At least $49 million worth of NFTs were stolen in that first quarter across 20 separate hack incidents. Many of these thefts involved phishing attacks on the social platform Discord, which has become a prominent tool among crypto advocates.
Cybercriminals also targeted several other notable blockchain systems in the first quarter of 2022. The Ethereum system was hacked 16 times, losing almost $25 million. The number of hackings was similar to Q1 2021, leading many to suspect that Ethereum is a primary target for hackers. Crypto exchanges were hacked three times, leading to a loss of $42 million.
Crypto markets have been a prime target for internet-based criminals. Hackers stole more than $4 billion worth of cryptocurrencies in 2021, according to Crystal Blockchain. That was three times as many crypto assets as were stolen in 2020.
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Bitcoin saw its highest prices in 2022 amid a steady climb in valuation. The common cryptocurrency was valued at $48,000 per token as of Wednesday.
More than $600 million in digital assets were stolen from a cryptocurrency exchange network for the video game Axie Infinity on March 23.
