According to a survey by Chainalysis, which estimates the sector lost $1.9 billion in hacks from January to July of this year, the amount taken in bitcoin heists is up 60% this year.
This is an increase from the $1.2 billion in hacks recorded the year before.
No sector of cryptocurrency-based crime is defying the 2022 trend of diminishing earnings like stolen funds, according to a blog post published on Tuesday by the blockchain analytics company.
Given the increased severity of cryptocurrency attacks this year, the upward trend is also expected to continue. Just this month, a hack on Nomad Bridge alone resulted in the theft of $192 million, and in that same week, another $200 million was taken from 8,000 compromised Solana wallets.
According to Chainalysis, a substantial portion of it is caused by DeFi protocols, which hackers have been attacking since 2021. Users may be exposed to hackers because protocols, which are programs that link crypto transactions without an intermediary, are built on open-source code that would-be thieves may examine before carrying out a theft.
According to the research firm, North Korean hackers have been primarily responsible for cyberattacks. US authorities claim that they stole at least $1 billion in cryptocurrency hacks and used Tornado Cash, a purported crypto mix that the Treasury Department banned this month, to launder the stolen funds. According to Chainalysis, the heists were probably the result of hackers discovering a way in using DeFi protocols.
Despite a sharp increase in 2021, bitcoin scams are surprisingly lower this year. According to Chainalysis, the amount taken in scams decreased by 65% to $1.6 billion, which coincides with the decline in bitcoin's price, which has dropped by nearly 50% since January.
"Nobody enjoys a bear market in cryptocurrencies, but there is one positive aspect: both illegal and legal bitcoin activities have decreased. We still can't afford to take our success for granted given the sharp rises in money being stolen "The research company issued a warning and emphasized the necessity for further regulation of the blockchain.
This year, there has been pressure on regulators to tighten the reins on the cryptocurrency industry. While a new US Senate proposal would establish the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission as the primary industry overseer for cryptocurrency, the Securities and Exchange Commission stated it would almost increase the employees in its crypto branch.
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