Immunefi Crypto Losses Q2 2024 Report

The team at Immunefi, the leading onchain crowdsourced security platform which protects over $190 billion in user funds, has assessed the volume of crypto funds lost by the community due to hacks and scams in Q2 2024.

Overview

There is nearly $100 billion in capital locked across web3 protocols as of June 2024. That capital represents an unparalleled and attractive opportunity for blackhat hackers.

We have reviewed all instances where blackhat hackers have exploited various crypto protocols, as well as cases of protocols that have allegedly performed a rug pull in Q2 2024. We have located 72 such instances, including both successful and semi-successful hacking attempts, as well as alleged fraud.

In total, we have seen a loss of $572,688,861 across the web3 ecosystem in Q2 2024. $564,238,811 was lost to hacks across 53 specific incidents and $8,450,050 was lost to fraud in across 19 specific incidents. Most of that sum was lost by two specific projects: DMM Bitcoin, a Japanese crypto exchange, suffered an attack that resulted in $305,000,000 lost, and BtcTurk, Turkey's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, which incurred a loss of $55,000,000.

The total loss of Q2 2024 represents a 112% increase compared to Q2 2023, when hackers and fraudsters stole $265,481,519.

Key Takeaways in Q2 2024

• The 2 major exploits of the quarter totaled $360,000,000 alone, accounting for 62.8% of all losses in Q2 2024.
• In Q2 2024, hacks continued to be the predominant cause of losses at 98.5% in comparison to fraud, which accounted for only 1.5% of the total losses.
• CeFi was the main target of successful exploits at 70% as compared to DeFi at 30% of the total losses.
• The two most targeted chains in Q2 2024 were Ethereum and BNB Chain. Ethereum suffered the most individual attacks with 34 incidents, followed by BNB Chain with 18 incidents, and Arbitrum with 4 incidents.
• In total, $26,736,000 has been recovered from stolen funds in 4 specific situations. This number makes up 5% of the total losses in Q2 2024.

Key Insights in Q2 2024

• $920,940,078 was lost due to hacks and fraud year-to-date, up by 24% compared with the previous period at $702,965,135.
• Q2 2024 was marked by a considerable increase in the total number of losses, up by 112% compared to Q2 2023, amounting to $265,481,519.
• Overall, May and June witnessed the highest volume of losses in Q2 2024. May reached $358,523,484 in total losses, and June reached $141,558,550.
• The number of individual successful attacks decreased by 11% from 81 in Q2 2023 to 72 in Q2 2024.
• In Q2 2024, Ethereum once again surpassed BNB Chain, becoming the most targeted chain compared to the previous period.
• In Q2 2024, funds recovery has proven slightly more effective than in the previous period. To date, 5% of stolen funds have been recovered, compared to the 3.9% recovered in Q2 2023.

Top 10 Losses in Q2 2024

• DMM Bitcoin — $305,000,000
• BtcTurk — $55,000,000
• Hedgey — $44,600,000
• Lykke — $23,600,000
• Gala Games* — $21,000,000
• SonneFinance — $20,000,000
• UwU Lend — $19,300,000
• Rain — $14,800,000
• Holograph — $14,400,000
• Velocore — $6,800,000

Major Exploits in Q2 Analysis

Most of that sum was lost by two specific projects: DMM Bitcoin and BtcTurk, totaling $360,000,000. Together, these two projects represent 62.8% of Q2 losses alone.

DMM Bitcoin, $305 Million

• On May 31 2024, DMM Bitcoin, a Japanese cryptocurrency trading platform, fell victim to a hack resulting in a massive loss of Bitcoin worth around $305 million.

BtcTurk, $55 Million

• On June 23, 2024, BtcTurk, a Turkish crypto exchange, suffered a cyberattack amounting to $55 million of lost funds.

Hacks vs. Fraud Analysis

In Q2 2024, hacks continue to be the predominant cause of losses as compared to fraud. An analysis of the losses shows that fraud accounts for only 1.5% of the total losses in Q2 2024 while hacks account for 98.5%.

Overview

• Hacks — In total, we have seen a loss of $564,238,811 to hacks in Q2 2024 across 53 specific incidents. These numbers represent a 155% increase compared to Q2 2023, when losses caused by hacks totaled $220,522,129.
• Fraud — In total, we have seen a loss of $8,450,050 to fraud in Q2 2024 across 19 specific incidents. These numbers represent a 81% decrease compared to Q2 2023, when losses caused by frauds, scams, and rug pulls totaled $44,959,390.

DeFi vs. CeFi Analysis

In Q2 2024, CeFi was the main target for exploits, representing 70% of total losses, while DeFi represented 30%.

Overview

• DeFi — DeFi has suffered $171,288,861 in total losses in Q2 2024 across 62 incidents. These numbers represent a 25% decrease compared to Q2 2023, when DeFi losses totaled $228,481,519.
• CeFi — CeFi has suffered $401,400,000 in total losses in Q2 2024 across 5 incidents. These numbers represent a 984% increase compared to Q2 2023, when CeFi losses totaled $37,000,000.

Losses by Chain

The two most targeted chains in Q2 2024 were Ethereum and BNB Chain. Ethereum suffered the most individual attacks with 34 incidents, representing 46.6% of the total losses across targeted chains. BNB Chain witnessed 18 incidents, representing 24.7% respectively.

Overview

• In Q2 2024, Ethereum and BNB Chain accounted for over half of the chain losses, totaling 71%.
• Arbitrum comes in third with 4 incidents, representing 5.5% of total losses across chains. Blast and Optimism follow with 3 incidents each. Remaining chains like Polygon, Solana, Fantom, Linea, Mantle, TON, and others together represent 15% of the total chain incidents, all with single incidents.

Insights

• In Q2 2024, Ethereum once again surpassed BNB Chain, becoming the most targeted chain compared to the previous period.

Funds Recovery

Overview

In total, $26,736,000 has been recovered from stolen funds in 4 specific situations. This number makes up 5% of the total losses in Q2 2024.

• Bloom — Stolen: $540,000 — Recovered: $486,000
• ALEX Lab — Stolen: $4,300,000 — Recovered: $3,900,000
• Gala Games* — Stolen: $21,000,000 — Recovered: $21,000,000
• YOLO Games — Stolen: $1,500,000 — Recovered: $1,350,000

In Focus: Crypto Losses YTD

Monthly Overview

In total, the ecosystem has witnessed $920,940,078 in losses year-to-date (YTD) across 135 specific incidents. Overall, the losses were primarily driven by over $358 million lost in May.

• January — $133,412,617
• February — $79,203,400
• March — $133,235,200
• April — $72,606,827
• May — $358,523,484
• June — $141,558,550

Total Losses YTD: Hacks vs. Fraud

January

• Hacks — $129,339,800
• Fraud — $4,072,817

February

• Hacks — $77,551,400
• Fraud — $1,652,000

March

• Hacks — $126,694,200
• Fraud — $6,541,000

April

• Hacks — $69,329,627
• Fraud — $3,277,200

May

• Hacks — $356,770,184
• Fraud — $1,753,300

June

• Hacks — $138,139,000
• Fraud — $3,419,550

In Focus: Q2 2023 vs. Q2 2024

Hacks vs. Frauds

• Hacks — Losses are up 155% when compared to the previous period.
• Fraud — Losses are down 81% when compared to the previous period.

DeFi vs. CeFi

• DeFi — Losses are down 25% when compared to the previous period.
• CeFi — Losses are up 984% when compared to the previous period.

Crypto Losses Q2 2024 — Summary

Total Losses in Q2: $572,688,861

YTD: $920,940,078

Hacks vs. Fraud

• Hacks — $564,238,811
• Fraud — $8,450,050

DeFi vs. CeFi

• DeFi — $171,288,861
• CeFi — $401,400,000

Major Losses

• DMM Bitcoin — $305.00M
• BtcTurk — $55.00M
• Hedgey — $44.60M
• Lykke — $23.60M
• Gala Games — $21.00M
• SonneFinance — $20.00M

Top Losses by Chain

• Ethereum — 34
• BNB Chain — 18
• Arbitrum — 4
• Optimism — 3

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For questions about this study or Immunefi itself, reach out at press@immunefi.com

About Immunefi

Immunefi is the leading security platform for crypto, protecting more than $180 billion in user funds, and securing protocols across the full development lifecycle, from pre-deployment through production.