Blockchain hackers stole $3.5 billion worth of cryptocurrencies in 2022

By counting researchers Slowmist Hacked and Atlas VPN, in 2022, the amount of cryptocurrency stolen by hackers from various blockchain platforms amounted to $3.5 billion. Most of the funds — $2 billion during 92 attacks — were stolen from the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) ecosystem and from cross-chain bridges that transfer both data and assets between different blockchain networks. There were 16 attacks on cross-chain bridges, $1.2 billion was stolen, on BSC — 76 attacks, $870 million. There were 48 attacks on all other crypto projects and platforms, during which $370 million was stolen. There were 57 attacks in the NFT segment. Lost a total of $90 million.

The researchers note that they did not take into account the losses incurred last year as a result of the bankruptcy of the FTX crypto exchange, since the exact amount has not yet been calculated.

The authors of the report say that, despite the general slowdown in the crypto market, last year the attackers were very active due to the increasing spread of blockchain technologies. In 2022, there were a total of 301 incidents across the entire market, a 27% increase over 2021. In addition, despite a relative decrease in the number of hacker attacks in the second half of last year, their total number for the year was a record.

Evgeniy Khvostik