Crypto Industry Suffered Over $3 Billion in Destructive Hacks in 2024
In the year 2024, the cryptocurrency industry faced significant losses due to hacking activities and scams, according to reports by PeckShield. The total losses amounted to more than $3.01 billion, representing an increase of 15% over the $2.61 billion stolen in 2023.
The data reveals that decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols were the prime target for hackers, accounting for 53.5% of all losses. Ethereum was the most affected cryptocurrency, accounting for 47.3% of the total funds stolen and being involved in 34.8% of the hacks. Bitcoin, on the other hand, was involved in 3.6% of all hacking incidents in 2024.
One of the key findings in the report is the fluctuation in monthly losses. For instance, in June 2025, about 15 major hacking incidents caused losses totaling approximately $111.6 million—a 56% decrease from May 2025. This indicates some improvement in security measures, but the scale of individual hacks can still be very large.
The Iranian exchange Nobitex lost about $82 million in June 2025 in a single attack, the biggest loss that month. Other notable hacks included ResupplyFi ($9.6 million), ALEXLabBTC ($8.4 million), ForceBridge ($3.8 million), and a Solana user ($3.2 million).
DeFi platforms continue to be vulnerable. In July 2025, the liquidity management platform Arcadia Finance was exploited for about $2.5 million due to a vulnerability in its code on the Base network. The stolen assets were moved through sanctioned mixers such as Tornado Cash, illustrating ongoing challenges with laundering stolen funds.
Vulnerabilities in DeFi protocols also persist across versions and forks. Security warnings from PeckShield pointed out that the same vulnerability exploited in GMX v1 could exist in similar derivative protocols, with around $27 million estimated to still be at risk in mid-2025.
User-side mistakes involving cybersecurity lapses and poor private key management accounted for 44% of all attacks in 2024 (up from 33% in 2023).
Notably, scam operations were responsible for the remaining $834.5 million in losses in 2024. The crypto industry experienced losses of more than $2.15 billion due to more than 300 hacker attacks.
Earlier in 2024, CertiK analysts highlighted an uptick in phishing activity. The total losses in the crypto industry stood at $3.15 billion in 2022.
Three significant hacks occurred in 2024: DMM Bitcoin ($305 million in losses), PlayDapp ($290 million), and the WazirX exploit ($230 million).
These incidents underscore the volatile and high-risk nature of crypto security, highlighting the importance of prompt vulnerability disclosure and defensive responses by affected platforms. The reports from PeckShield in 2024 and early 2025 reveal that large-scale hacks continue to cause hundreds of millions in losses, with DeFi protocols being a frequent target. Although monthly total losses may sometimes decline significantly, the presence of critical code vulnerabilities and sophisticated laundering through mixers remain ongoing risks.
- Despite the improvements seen in some months, the data from 2024 shows that decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols remained the prime target for hackers, accounting for 53.5% of all losses in the cryptocurrency industry.
- Ethereum was the most affected cryptocurrency in 2024, accounting for 47.3% of the total funds stolen and being involved in 34.8% of the hacks.
- user-side mistakes involving cybersecurity lapses and poor private key management accounted for 44% of all attacks in 2024, a rise from 33% in the previous year.
