Quarterly Review: Cryptocurrency Market Shaken by $1.4 Billion Fund Losses due to Hacks and Scams in Q3 2023

The cryptocurrency market has experienced significant losses in the third quarter of 2023, with a staggering $1.4 billion worth of funds stolen due to hacks and scams. This quarter marked the worst period of the year, with fund losses increasing by 59.9% compared to the previous quarter. The majority of these losses were a result of hack attacks targeting interchain protocols such as Mixin Network and Multichain.

Key Highlights:

• In the third quarter of 2023, $685.5 million worth of funds were stolen from projects in the cryptocurrency market.
• Hack attacks targeting interchain protocols Mixin Network and Multichain accounted for almost half of the recorded fund loss.
• Fund losses in the third quarter increased by 59.9% compared to the previous quarter, reaching a total of $1.4 billion.
• State-sponsored hackers played a significant role in these attacks, with a focus on CeFi leading to a sharp increase in losses in this sector.

Hack Attacks on Mixin Network and Multichain:

• A total of $326 million was stolen in a hack attack targeting Mixin Network in September, and another $208.6 million was stolen in a hack attack targeting Multichain in July. These two incidents alone accounted for 47.5% of the total fund loss in the third quarter.
• The Lazarus Group, a North Korean-backed hacking group, is allegedly responsible for these high-profile hack attacks and is held accountable for $208.6 million, which is equivalent to 30% of the stolen funds in the quarter.

Most Targeted Networks and DeFi Vulnerabilities:

• Ethereum (ETH) was the most targeted network in 35 out of 76 incidents, accounting for 42.7% of the fund losses. BNB Chain accounted for 30.5% of fund losses in 25 incidents.
• Since the launch of Coinbase's Layer 2 network Base, four projects have been targeted by hack attacks. These projects include LeetSwap, SwirlLend, Magnate Finance, and RocketSwap.
• Approximately $662.9 million worth of funds were stolen in DeFi due to 49 protocol vulnerabilities, accounting for 96.7% of the recorded fund losses. This represents a significant increase of 66.1% compared to the previous year.
• Fraud and scam incidents accounted for $22.6 million, which is 3.3% of the total fund losses. However, this figure decreased by 23.9% compared to the previous year.

Continued Targeting of DeFi:

• The data clearly shows that DeFi remains the most attractive target for hackers, with hack attacks targeting this area accounting for $499.8 million (72.9%) of the fund losses in the third quarter.
• This figure also indicates an 18.5% increase compared to the previous year, highlighting the ongoing vulnerability of the DeFi sector to malicious actors.

In conclusion, the cryptocurrency market has experienced significant fund losses in the third quarter of 2023, primarily due to hack attacks targeting interchain protocols and vulnerabilities in the DeFi sector. These losses highlight the importance of robust security measures and continuous efforts to protect investors' funds in the ever-evolving landscape of cryptocurrencies.