Crypto Hacks and Exploits Decline to $300M in Q2: Report

Blockchain security company, Certik, has compiled a report showing the value of cryptocurrencies lost in hacks and exploits during the second quarter of the year. According to the report, hackers stole $313 million through different kinds of scams and malicious exploits during the period.

The amount lost did not change much compared to the $320 million lost during the first quarter of the year. However, the amount in the second quarter is much lower compared to that which was recorded in the same period of 2022, which was at $745 million.

Surging Exit Scams

The total number of security incidents in the second quarter was 212 and the amount lost to exit scams was $70 million. It is almost double the figures recorded in the last quarter at $31 million, according to the report released today (Wednesday).

An exit scam in the cryptocurrency sector is a situation where an individual or an entity creates a cryptocurrency project, promotes it until it achieves a certain monetary value and then disappears, leaving investors with worthless tokens. This type of crypto scam is also referred to as a 'rug pull'.

Across the blockchain space, BNB Chain reported the highest number of security violations totalling more than 100 with losses amounting to $71 million. Ethereum had 55 incidents that cost investors $66 million, while Polygon recorded four cases and losses worth about $2.4 million.

COMING THIS WEEK, The #HACK3D Report: Q2 2023!In the report;⦿ $313 million drained from #web3 by malicious actors.⦿ SEC files charges against #Binance & #Coinbase.⦿ Recap of the 98 exit scams & 54 flashloan/oracle manipulation exploits & losses.+ much more! #CertiK pic.twitter.com/MhLDbSUlJ1

NFT Scams

In a separate report by security firm PeckShield, the number of non-fungible tokens stolen in June dropped by 23% to about $2 million. According to the report, half of the stolen digital assets were sold in the NFT marketplaces in less than three hours. The highest amount of the stolen NFTs were sold on Blur, at 86%, while those disposed of on OpenSea were at 13%.

#PeckShieldAlert In June 2023, ~$2.27M worth of #NFTs were stolen, marking a 23% decrease compared to the previous month. Within a span of 160 minutes, half of the stolen NFTs were promptly sold on various marketplaces. The percentage of stolen NFTs initially sold on @blur_io… pic.twitter.com/0bhYs3CzTL

Meanwhile, the UK's Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) in a report released last month noted that the number of financial scams, especially those related to cryptocurrencies, was on the rise. The FOS said that there was a surge in what it termed as 'hybrid scams' involving more than one type of scam, Finance Magnates reported.