Chainalysis data shows that cryptocurrency attacks are increasing after a lull late last year
In 2024, the cryptocurrency landscape has seen a troubling rise in hacking and ransomware activities, according to a recent report by Chainalysis. Despite a general decline in overall illicit transactions within the crypto market—down 19.6% from $20.9 billion to $16.7 billion—specific criminal activities, notably theft and ransomware, have surged significantly.
Crypto hacking, in particular, has made a dramatic comeback. After a notable decline in 2023, the value of stolen cryptocurrency has escalated sharply in 2024. By the end of July, over $1.58 billion in crypto had been stolen, marking an 84% increase compared to the same period last year. This surge in the value of stolen assets is partly attributed to the rising prices in the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin seeing a significant price hike of about 130% during this time.
It appears that hackers have shifted their focus back to centralized exchanges (CEX) after several years of targeting decentralized platforms. In 2024, centralized exchanges have experienced some of the most significant breaches, with the Japanese exchange DMM losing $305 million in Bitcoin in a high-profile hack. This incident alone accounted for nearly 19% of the total value stolen in cryptocurrency hacks this year.
Ransomware attacks have also become more severe. In July 2024, Chainalysis reported the largest single ransomware payment ever recorded, a $75 million paid to the ransomware group Dark Angels. This represents a 96% increase in the maximum payment size compared to 2023 and a 335% jump from 2022.
“It is not clear if this trend is purely a crime of opportunity or if centralized services, which tend to act as custodians for large amounts of user funds, have been targeted more simply because the value of the assets they hold have become relatively more tantalizing compared to, say, DeFi services,” Chainalysis’ cybercrime research lead Eric Jardine stated.
Crypto markets continue to evolve, but the rise in these criminal activities highlights the different challenges in securing digital assets and the increasing sophistication of cybercriminals. It remains to be seen whether this behavior will continue until the end of this year.
