Hackers have stolen a whopping $1.38 billion through hacks and network exploits so far this year, a number that is expected to grow, if not double, by the end of the year.
According to TRM Labs, five large attacks are responsible for 70% of the crypto stolen thus far. While that $1.38 billion number is large, it's below the record-setting $2 billion that was stolen during the same time period in 2022. The number is, however, double the amount that was stolen this time last year, Bloomberg reports.
The majority of the theft was caused by unauthorized access to private keys and seed codes. Other major causes include smart contract exploits and flash loan attacks.
There haven't been any fundamental changes in the security of the cryptocurrency ecosystem that may explain this upward trend, according to TRM Labs, which hasn't "found significant differences in attack vectors or in the number of attacks between the first halves of 2023 and 2024."
The group's current hypothesis is that the market had higher average token prices in 2024 versus 2023, which likely drove increased theft volumes.
The largest attack in 2024 thus far, according to Bloomberg, stole $300 million in Bitcoin from Japanese crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin. The cause of that particular attack is currently unknown.