The Biggest Cryptocurrency Hacks So Far

The Biggest Cryptocurrency Hacks So Far: Even though Cryptocurrency was considered safe it can still be compromised in a variety of ways, both individually and collectively. Through phishing scams, wherein hackers connect to your wallet and send the contents to themselves, you can be personally attacked. A 51% assault or a backdoor exploit can also be used to hack a blockchain. This assault occurs when a single entity has 51% or more of the blockchain’s verification power, allowing them to approve any transaction they choose. Although highly unlikely, a 51% attack is still conceivable.

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Blockchain projects have been said to be secure, but two attacks in 2022 disproved this claim. In 2022, consumers have already had their bitcoin stolen for over $1.6 billion, according to blockchain data firm Chainalysis. Check out the biggest cryptocurrency hacks ever.

Ronin Network Hack: $625 Million

Axie Infinity, a well-known blockchain gaming platform, was the victim of the biggest cryptocurrency hack to date, which was carried out in March 2022. The blockchain that contained the Axie Infinity game was called Ronin Network. Over the past year or so, the game’s popularity had been steadily expanding. Axie Infinity decreased its safety requirements to keep up with demand, which is when the hack occurred. Sadly, this choice left a backdoor open, allowing the hackers to flee with more than $625 million.

The USDC stablecoin and over $625 million worth of Ethereum were stolen when hackers broke into the Ronin Network. According to U.S. officials, the heist was connected to Lazarus Group, a hacking group supported by the North Korean government. A month later, Binance was able to get back $5.8 million of the lost money, but it was still the biggest hack in history. Users are unsure about when or if they will receive their funds back. The Ronin network team is actively collaborating with governments and other professionals to assist recover the stolen funds.

Poly Network Hack: $611 Million

The Poly Network decentralised finance network was vulnerable in August 2021, and a lone hacker used it to steal almost $600 million. he hacker made off with a variety of tokens worth more than $600 million. However, the hacker quickly started corresponding with Poly Network’s proprietors and, shockingly, agreed to return the majority of the money.

The unidentified hacker started collaborating when the Poly Network established multiple addresses for the monies to be refunded. Everything was returned by the hacker, but just $33 million in Tether (USDT). A wallet containing $200 million was also locked and required credentials from Poly Network and the hacker. Poly Network handed the hacker $500,000 and even a job in exchange for them returning these funds. The money was eventually restored after the password was revealed. It was discovered that the hacker had chosen to target the network “for pleasure” or as a challenge.

Binance Hack: $570 million

The largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, Binance, is the most recent business to have a significant heist this year. The Binance exchange was compromised for $570 million in one of the most well-known hacks in cryptocurrency history in October 2022. The hackers chose to steal from a structure known as a cross-chain bridge. Large reserves of different currency are frequently kept by bridge services. Blockchain bridges are becoming popular targets for heists as a result of these coin reserves catching hackers’ attention.

After deploying an update that frozen the accounts, Binance was able to stop the Binance Smart Chain and secure $7 million in funds. Attacks on networks controlled by code, such as the Binance Smart Chain network, have drawn attention to the flaws in decentralised finance, or DeFi.

Coincheck Hack: $534 Million

Another exchange that experienced a hack and lost about $534 million in January 2018 was Coincheck. The Japanese exchange Coincheck was attacked in January 2018 and lost $523 million worth of NEM coins, which are worth roughly $534 million. A hot wallet, which is a live cryptocurrency wallet and is less secure than an offline cold storage wallet, was the source of the issue. Because Coincheck held its money in a hot wallet that was connected to the internet, this weakness was taken advantage of. As a result of this technique, hackers gained access to the wallet and were able to transmit money to themselves.

NEM was the chosen token (XEM). The developers were able to tag the NEM tokens so that others know they had been stolen even while hackers were able to steal the money. Many people think that the tokens were used privately or on the dark web, even though taking this action prevented them from being traded on any significant exchanges. Despite being acquired a few months later by the Japanese financial services firm Monex Group, Coincheck was able to withstand the breach and carry on with business.

Mt. Gox Hack: $473 Million

One of the earliest Bitcoin exchanges to be accessible was MT Gox. At that time, around 70% of all bitcoin transactions were being handled by the cryptocurrency exchange. The developers had no idea how to safeguard the website or manage the transaction volume because cryptocurrencies were such a new phenomenon at the time. As a result, over several years, they were gradually robbed of their Bitcoin holdings.

The assault persisted, and in 2014, Mt. Gox was once more attacked. Nearly 650,000 of its customers’ bitcoins as well as about 100,000 of its own were lost. That was valued about $473 million at the time, or about 7% of all bitcoins. Initial explanations for the disappearance of the coins were ambiguous, but further proof indicated that the coins had been taken from the business’s hot wallet.

The hackers were able to steal more than 850,000 Bitcoin from the exchange’s owners and users over the course of those three years. The price was $470 million at the time. But today, it would be worth a few billion. When the attack was identified, MT Gox stopped operating. But it was able to get back about 200,000 of the stolen Bitcoin. It still has to deal with lawsuits.

Wormhole Hack: $325 Million

In February 2022, the decentralised financial platform Wormhole was attacked, and hackers stole $325 million. Users of the Wormhole decentralised finance (DeFi) programme can link the Solana blockchain with other significant blockchains. Due to the nature of the business, it was a target for prospective attacks because it needed to keep a significant quantity of cryptocurrency to complete trades and provide money for its members.

An upgrade to the project’s GitHub repository, which was then not published to the live project, had enabled the attack. The project’s financial situation had to be fixed after the funds could not be retrieved, thanks to the well-known cryptocurrency bridge. This was also the biggest theft involving Solana, a competitor to Ethereum’s hegemony in the DeFi and NFT industries. The native SOL cryptocurrency of the blockchain, worth up to $47 million, was taken.

The developers were experimenting with code that hadn’t yet been released when the real breach took place. The code was intended to fix project flaws, but it instead created a security breach that allowed the hacker to access and transfer themself 120,000 wETH, which was valued over $325 million at the time. The funds have still not been retrieved as of May 2022.

Bottomline

The blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis projected in August that 13 cross-chain bridge assaults, largely in 2022, had resulted in the theft of $2 billion in cryptocurrencies. An attack in March caused the crypto-powered video game Axie Infinity to lose $600 million from a bridge. $325 million was taken from the Wormhole network in February.

For years, hackers have taken advantage of the cryptocurrency market. Security is something that blockchain projects promise, but back-to-back hacks dispel this notion and investors’ faith.

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FAQs

Which cryptocurrency exchanges have been hacked?

On September 25, 2020, KuCoin, one of the most well-liked exchanges for trading altcoins, was compromised. The exchange lost over $275 million in digital currency holdings as a result of the event. Private keys to KuCoin’s hot wallets, which enable withdrawals from the exchange, were found to be the source of the hack.

What was the first cryptocurrency breach?

Mt. Gox was a cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2010 and based in Tokyo, Japan. It had the first significant hack in the industry. It once held the title of biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, processing more than 70% of all global bitcoin transactions. The exchange was hacked in 2011 and bitcoin worth $8.75 million was taken.

Are crypto wallets safe?

To safeguard yourself from hacking, you should always use the most recent wallet. Do not depend on the exchange you are using. Cryptocurrency wallets are secure because they assist you in safeguarding your investments.

How frequently have cryptocurrency hacks happened this year?

According to Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics company, October “is the biggest month in the biggest year ever for hacker activity.” The business also stated that 125 hacks this year have netted cryptocurrency hackers more than $3 billion.