The value of stolen cryptocurrency has surged to $2.2 billion in 2024, an increase of 21% compared to the previous year, according to a report dated December 19 from Chainalysis. This increase is closely linked to the surge in cyber attacks, particularly from cybercrime groups associated with North Korea.
Increasing cyber attack situation
The crypto industry faced 303 cyber attacks in 2024, up from 282 in 2023. These attacks caused significant damage, with the majority of stolen funds — up to $1.58 billion — occurring between January and July, accounting for 72% of the total stolen funds in 2024, an increase of 84% compared to the same period in 2023.
Unlike previous years, centralized exchanges have become the primary targets of attacks, surpassing DeFi platforms. Notable incidents include the $305 million attack on DMM Bitcoin in May and the $235 million attack on WazirX in July.
Annual cryptocurrency thefts
Chainalysis identified that private key breaches are a serious vulnerability, with these exploits accounting for nearly 44% of the total stolen funds in 2024. Hackers often use decentralized exchanges, mixing services, and blockchain bridges to launder money and complicate efforts to track their activities.
North Korea leads in cryptocurrency thefts
North Korean hackers made significant advances in 2024 by stealing $1.34 billion through 47 attacks, accounting for 61% of the total stolen funds for the year. This marks a 103% increase from the $660 million that North Korea was suspected of stealing in 2023. Data shows that the rate of attacks has also increased, especially for attacks valued over $50 million.
North Korean attacks
However, geopolitical factors may have influenced these criminal activities. After the summit at the end of June between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the value of cryptocurrency stolen by North Korean hackers significantly decreased. The average amount stolen per day fell by nearly 54% after July 1.
Meanwhile, thefts unrelated to North Korea show signs of a slight increase after this period, suggesting a potential shift in focus in cyber attack activities, possibly linked to increasing military and technological cooperation between North Korea and Russia.
More than half of the cryptocurrency tokens launched in 2024 are toxic
Blockchain security company Blockaid recently stated that up to 59% of tokens released this year have a 'toxic nature.'
The increase in illicit tokens, particularly related to memecoins, has continuously occurred throughout this cycle, with many imitation coins being launched on platforms such as Ethereum, Base, Solana, and many other chains. Currently, there are 10 memecoins with a market capitalization of over 1 billion dollars, and this success has driven the emergence of copy tokens.
According to Blockaid, such scams still account for a large proportion of toxic tokens, making up 27% of the total. However, a positive signal is that the amount lost due to hacks and scams in the cryptocurrency space has significantly decreased. The FBI reported that in 2023, the total amount lost due to cryptocurrency scams was $5.6 billion, while this figure has dropped to $1.4 billion this year.
Data from Blockaid collected from the on-chain detection and response platform (ODR) has processed a total of 2.41 billion transactions, 780 million dapp connections, and 220 million tokens in 2024.
