In November 2024, the majority of losses in the cryptocurrency market were due to hacks, accounting for 99.96% of total losses. Fraud and rug pulls, on the other hand, decreased significantly and only contributed to $25,300 in losses across two incidents. Decentralized finance (DeFi) was the primary victim of these attacks, with $71 million in total losses recorded in November. This marked a significant improvement from the previous year, where $343 million was lost during the same period.
Centralized finance (CeFi) reported no incidents in November, but Immunefi warns that the sector has become a prime target for hackers. Nearly half of the year-to-date losses, totaling $724 million, came from CeFi breaches. This is a stark contrast to previous years when such attacks were on the decline. In Q3 2024 alone, CeFi hacks accounted for 72% of all losses, with one incident at India’s WazirX exchange costing $235 million. The vulnerability of infrastructure, especially hot wallets, makes these breaches particularly devastating.
Hackers have been refining their strategies, using techniques like impersonating recruiters or planting fake hires to penetrate security systems. The rise in these sophisticated attacks highlights a growing threat that often goes unnoticed until significant damage is done. Among the targeted blockchain networks, BNB Chain suffered the most significant impact in November, with 14 separate attacks accounting for 46.7% of total losses. Ethereum followed with nine incidents, contributing to 30% of the month’s losses.
Other networks like Solana, Polygon, Fantom, Avalanche, Arbitrum, and Aptos each experienced one attack, collectively representing 3.3% per chain. Year-to-date, the ecosystem has endured losses totaling $1.49 billion across 209 incidents, with May and July being the most devastating months, recording losses exceeding $359 million and $282 million respectively. It is crucial for both DeFi and CeFi platforms to strengthen their security measures and stay vigilant against evolving hacker strategies to prevent further financial losses.
