Immunefi, one of the leading bug bounty and security services platforms, recently published its ‘Crypto Losses in 2022’ report which revealed that the crypto space lost $3,948,856,037 in 2022.
This represents a 51.2% decrease compared to 2021 when hackers and fraudsters stole $8,088,338,239.
According to the report, hacks continued to be the predominant cause of losses at 95.6%, compared to frauds, scams, and rug pulls which comprised only 4.4% of the total losses seen in 2022.
Of the total amount stolen, $3,773,906,837 accounted for the 134 specific hacking incidents recorded during the year. This represents a 58.3% increase compared to 2021 when losses caused by hacks totalled $2,384,164,452 from 102 incidents.
More details: The report also explained that the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) space continued to be the main target of successful exploits at 80.5%, compared to Centralized Finance (CeFi) at 19.5% of the total losses.
DeFi suffered $3,180,023,103 in total losses in 2022 across 155 incidents. This number represents a 56.2% increase compared to 2021, when DeFi lost $2,036,015,896, in 107 incidents.
What you Should Know: The top five exploits of the year totalled $2,361,000,000 alone, accounting for 59.8% of all losses in 2022.
- They include FTX, which accounted for $650 million, The Ronin Network, which accounted for $625 million, BNB Chain, which accounted for $570 million, Wormhole, which accounted for $326 million and Nomad bridge, which accounted for $190 million.
- The two most targeted chains in 2022 were BNB Chain and Ethereum, representing more than half of the chain attacks in 2022, at 63.3%.
- BNB Chain surpassed Ethereum and became the most targeted chain in 2022, with 65 incidents, representing 36.1%, while Ethereum witnessed 49 incidents, representing 27.2%.
- In 2022, Q4 accounted for when the most funds were stolen, amounting to $1,620,138,807 in total losses across 55 incidents, representing 41% of the total losses. This number also shows an increase when compared to Q4 2021, when hackers and fraudsters stole $739,243,793, a 119% increase.
- Most of Q4’s amount was lost by two specific projects: FTX and BNB Chain, totalling $1,220,000,000; together, they represent 75.3% of Q4 losses alone and 30.90% of the total losses seen during the year 2022.
- The report explained that 2022 saw a loss of $174,949,200 to fraud 2022, in 34 specific incidents. This number represents a 96.9% decrease compared to 2021, when losses caused by fraud totalled $5,704,173,787, in 14 incidents.
- BNB Chain suffered the most individual attacks with 65 incidents, representing 36.1% of the total attacks across targeted chains. This number represents a 51.2% increase compared to 2021 when BNB Chain witnessed 43 attacks.
- Ethereum witnessed 49 incidents, representing 27.2% of the total incidents across targeted chains. This number represents an 8.9% increase when compared to 2021 when Ethereum witnessed 45 attacks.
- Remaining chains like Gnosis, Cronos, Arbitrum, Fantom, and others together represented 21.7% of the total chain attacks.
- In total, $204,157,000 of stolen funds have been recovered across 12 specific instances. This number represents just 5.2% of the total losses in 2022.
- In Q4 of 2022, hacks continued to be the predominant cause of losses as compared to fraud, scams, and rug pulls. Fraud accounted for only 7.4% of the total losses in Q4 2022, while hacks accounted for 92.6%.
- DeFi continued to be the main target of successful exploits as compared to CeFi. DeFi accounted for 57.6% of the total losses, while CeFi accounted for 42.4% of the total losses in Q4.
- The two most targeted chains in Q4 2022 were BNB Chain and Ethereum, representing more than half of the chain attacks in 2022, at 64%. BNB Chain suffered the most individual attacks with 18 incidents, representing 36% of the total attacks across targeted chains, while Ethereum witnessed 14 incidents, representing 28%.
- Solana comes in third with 6 incidents, representing 12% of total losses across chains. Avalanche followed with 3 incidents, representing 6%. NEAR with 2 incidents, representing 4%. Polygon with 1 incident, representing 2%. Remaining chains like CELO, Optimism and others together represented 13.6% of the total chain attacks.
Need for action: The Chief Executive Officer of Immunefi, Mitchell Amador, said:
- “Looking at the losses suffered by the community in 2022 is a reminder of the importance of prioritizing security and implementing robust and consistent measures moving into 2023. By proactively identifying and addressing vulnerabilities, we can protect the community from harm and build trust in the field. As we make the industry safer, everything else can flourish.”