In December 2024, there was a notable decline in the amount lost to cryptocurrency hacks and scams, resulting in the lowest monthly losses of the year. Following a series of intensifying attacks that peaked in October, losses fell significantly to around $29 million, as reported by two prominent blockchain security firms, CertiK and PeckShield.
CertiK’s assessment indicated total losses of approximately $28.6 million for the month, which is a dramatic decrease from the $63.8 million lost in November and even more so from October’s staggering loss of $115.8 million. The majority of the losses in December, totaling around $26.7 million, stemmed from various exploits carried out by attackers.
Similarly, PeckShield reported losses of about $24.7 million from hacks during December, marking a 71% reduction when compared to November. Both firms highlighted key incidents that contributed to the overall figures for the month.
Prominent among the exploits was an attack on GemPad, a decentralized finance platform, where hackers managed to exploit a vulnerability in its smart contracts, leading to a theft of $2.1 million. Another incident involved the DeFi project FEG, which lost $1 million due to a flaw in its cross-chain message verification process that permitted attackers to withdraw tokens without proper checks.
Furthermore, users of LastPass were also impacted by a significant breach that stemmed from a data leak in December 2022. Blockchain investigator Zachxbt reported that hackers drained roughly $12.3 million from accounts that were compromised during this event.
Overall, December featured over 25 hacks in the crypto sector, reflecting a considerable decrease in losses compared to previous months. While the improvements in December were noteworthy, the year 2024 overall still registered a substantial increase in cryptocurrency theft. Reports from Cyvers indicated that approximately $2.3 billion were stolen across 165 incidents through the year, a 40% rise compared to the $1.69 billion lost in 2023. However, this figure represented a slight improvement when compared to the much larger theft of $3.78 billion recorded in 2022.
Despite the apparent downturn in losses for December, the broader trends illustrate an ongoing battle within the crypto landscape against security breaches and malicious activities. As developers and platforms seek to strengthen security measures, it remains critical for users to remain vigilant about protecting their assets in this ever-evolving digital environment. This recent data highlights both the vulnerabilities that continue to exist within cryptocurrency platforms and the pressing need for enhanced security protocols and user awareness to mitigate potential risks.