Cryptocurrency hacks and exploits incurred significantly reduced losses in June, marking a notable 54.2% decline from the previous month. Data compiled by PeckShield, a crypto analytics firm, reveals around 20 reported hacking incidents during June, resulting in a collective net loss of approximately $176 million. In contrast, May had witnessed a higher figure of $385 million lost to cyberattacks.
The largest incident in June occurred at BtcTurk crypto exchange, where hackers absconded with more than $100 million in crypto assets, according to PeckShield’s findings. Initial estimates by blockchain analyst ZachXBT pegged these losses at about $55 million. The second largest breach involved the centralized exchange Lykke, which recorded losses amounting to $22 million. In third place was the decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platform UwU Lend, experiencing a loss of $19.4 million.
PeckShield’s data illustrates that centralized exchanges bore the brunt of the losses this quarter, securing the top two positions in the rankings for June. In May, however, losses peaked with a staggering $385 million attributed to crypto hacks, notably driven by the private key breach at DMM exchange, resulting in the theft of $305 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC).
The first quarter of 2024 reported net losses of $360 million in February, followed by a decrease to $60.19 million in April, marking the lowest figure of the year. Despite the reduction in June’s losses, the second quarter of 2024 still saw a 115% increase compared to the same period in 2023, totaling over $572 million in losses.
Centralized exchanges remained the primary target throughout this quarter, accounting for $401 million, or 70% of the total losses. Although attacks on centralized platforms were relatively few in number, they were considerably impactful. In contrast, decentralized protocols faced a larger volume of successful exploits, totaling 62 incidents in this quarter alone.
The fluctuating landscape of crypto security continues to expose vulnerabilities, prompting renewed scrutiny as the industry navigates ongoing challenges in safeguarding digital assets against sophisticated threats.