There was a 54.2% decrease in net losses from cryptocurrency breaches and exploits in June compared to May, which saw nearly $385 million in losses from crypto hacks.
In June, the crypto space experienced approximately 20 malware incidents, resulting in a net loss of nearly $176 million, per data from the crypto analytics firm PeckShield. This represents a substantial decrease of 54.2% from May when hackers stole $385 million.
According to Peckshield data, the BtcTurk crypto exchange exploit was the most significant breach of June, and the hackers could escape with more than $100 million in crypto assets.
ZachXBT, a chain investigator, initially estimated that the losses would amount to approximately $55 million. Lykke, a centralized exchange, was the victim of the second-largest exploit, resulting in $22 million in losses. The third-largest exploit was on the decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol UwU Lend, which resulted in a $19.4 million loss.
During June, centralized exchanges occupied the first two positions in the rankings for the steepest losses, with three DeFi protocols following in their wake.
Centralized exchanges – The most Significant Contributor
Crypto losses in 2024 have been most significant in May, with nearly $385 million in net losses resulting from crypto breaches. The May 31 private key breach of crypto exchange DMM resulted in the largest single loss, the theft of $305 million in Bitcoin from the exchange.
There were net losses of $360 million in February, while April recorded the lowest figure at $60.19 million.
Although there was a substantial decrease in net losses from exploits in June, losses increased by 115% in the second quarter of 2024 when compared to the same period in 2023, and the second quarter of 2023 resulted in $220 million in losses, while the second quarter of 2024 saw a loss of over $572 million.
Centralized exchange hacks were responsible for the preponderance of the quarter’s losses. Losses from centralized protocols and exchange exploits totaled $401 million this quarter, which accounts for 70% of the total.
There has been an increase in losses from centralized exchanges this quarter. Nevertheless, the data suggests that only a fraction of the total attacks against these exchanges were effective.
This quarter, the hacker only successfully exploited centralized platforms five times, while decentralized protocols experienced 62 effective exploits.
