According to CryptoPotato, blockchain security firm CertiK reported that the cryptocurrency sector suffered losses of $42.6 million in May due to exploits, flash loans, and exit scams. However, the sector managed to recover approximately $96.2 million, mitigating some of the economic impact. Flash loan attacks were the primary cause of these losses, accounting for around $20.7 million. Sonne Finance was the hardest hit, losing $20 million, followed by TLN Protocol, which lost $746,000. GPU and Saturn Token also experienced losses, amounting to $32,394 and $8,343 respectively.
Exploits also had a significant impact on the sector, leading to losses of about $19.7 million. Gala Games suffered the most significant loss of $21.6 million, followed by AlexLab at $4.3 million, Pump Fun at $1.9 million, GNUS.ai at $1.28 million, and Orion at $947,000. Exit scams, although less common, contributed approximately $1.8 million to the losses. Among these, Trees On Sol lost $1.11 million, Pii Park $490,000, Novamind $123,019, and Arbalest $91,520.
Interestingly, flash loan attacks have consistently caused significant losses in odd-numbered months throughout the year. January, March, and May saw losses of $15.3 million, $21.9 million, and $20.7 million, respectively. In contrast, losses in February and April were less than $150,000 each. February experienced the most severe loss overall due to exit scams, totaling $58.3 million, with less than 10% of this total recorded in other months.
In the year-to-date of 2024, security service provider Immunefi reports that over $473 million worth of cryptocurrency has been lost to hacks and rug pulls across 108 incidents. The decentralized finance (DeFi) market remains the primary target for hackers, while centralized finance companies did not experience any attacks in 2024. Last year, over $2 billion was lost to hacks and exploits, about half the total from the previous year. In May 2024, Ethereum and BNB Chain were the most targeted chains, collectively representing 62% of the total losses across targeted chains. Crypto hacks and exploits continue to be a significant problem. For instance, DMM Bitcoin, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, recently reported losing 48 billion yen ($305 million) of Bitcoin (BTC) due to a hack.