Cryptocurrency hackers stole $3.8bn from crypto businesses in 2022, according to Chainalysis.
In a breakdown of its Crypto Crime Report for 2022 showed that this was a 15.15 per cent increase from the $3.3bn that was stolen in 2021.
The firm explained that hacking activity ebbed and flowed throughout the year, with huge spikes in March and October, with the latter becoming the biggest single month ever for cryptocurrency hacking, as $775.7m got stolen in 32 separate attacks.
It said, “2022 was the biggest year ever for crypto hacking, with $3.8bn stolen from cryptocurrency businesses.”
The blockchain analysis company further stated that North Korea-linked hackers drove much of 2022’s crypto hacking activity.
According to it, hackers from the country stole $1.7bn in 2022.
It stated, “North Korea-linked hackers such as those in cybercriminal syndicate Lazarus Group have been by far the most prolific cryptocurrency hackers over the last few years.
“In 2022, they shattered their own records for theft, stealing an estimated $1.7bn worth of cryptocurrency across several hacks we have attributed to them. For context, North Korea’s total exports in 2020 totalled $142m worth of goods, so it is not a stretch to say that cryptocurrency hacking is a sizable chunk of the nation’s economy.
“Most experts agree the North Korean government is using these stolen to fund its nuclear weapons programmes.”
The firm explained that DeFi protocols accounted for 82.1 per cent, $3.1bn, of all stolen crypto by hackers.
It said, “DeFi protocols as victims accounted for 82.1 per cent of all cryptocurrency stolen by hackers — a total of $3.1bn — up from 73.3 per cent in 2021. And of that $3.1bn, 64 per cent came from cross-chain bridge protocols specifically.
“Cross-chain bridges are protocols that let users port their cryptocurrency from one blockchain to another, usually by locking the user’s assets into a smart contract on the original chain, and then minting equivalent assets on the second chain.”
According to Chainanalysis, illegal crypto transactions rose to $20.1bn in 2022.
