Fakoyejo Olalekan
Cryptocurrency hackers have stolen $1.9 billion worth of cryptocurrency between January and July 2022, indicating stakeholders in the digital asset market have been unable to reduce the risk associated with crypto trading.
The value of cryptocurrency stolen is 58.33% higher than the $1.2 billion hackers stole by accessing exchange wallets during the corresponding period last year, which means hackers have stolen $700 million more year-on-year.
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This year’s stolen cryptocurrency had received a boost with hackers stealing a whopping $190 million from cross-chain bridge, Nomad, while Solana wallets lost $5 million.
The new figures were reported by Chainalysis, with the firm’s report disclosing that stolen cryptocurrency rose during the same period scam-related crypto funds declined by 65% year-on-year to $1.6 billion at the end of July of 2022.
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Funds stolen through scam activities had dropped due to dip in cryptocurrency prices, according to Chainalysis, as prospective investors lose interest in pouring their money into cryptoassets.
With prices down, scammers are unable to entice prospective investors with false mouth-watering cryptocurrency offers, and enlightenment of new and old cryptocurrency traders have made it difficult for bad actors to scam unsuspecting individuals.
However, hackers are expected to continue to have a field day due to the weak system of some exchanges carrying cryptocurrency investments, “we shouldn’t expect theft to drop based on cryptocurrency market movements the way scamming does — as long as crypto assets held in DeFi protocol pools and other services have value and are vulnerable, bad actors will try to steal them.
“The only way to stop them is for the industry to shore up security and educate consumers on how to find safe projects to invest in. Law enforcement, meanwhile, must continue developing their ability to seize stolen cryptocurrency to the point that hacks are no longer worthwhile.” The report reads.
In comparison, the biggest scam recorded last year during the period in review was $1.16 billion perpetuated by founders of Finiko, while the biggest this year is $273.94 million by Juicy Fields.
Other large scam recorded so far this year are Unique Exchange, $267.50 million, as well as that of Omega Pro, $106.45 million – all of which are about half of Finiko’s scam, reflecting a decline in funds stolen by scammers.
