In June, net losses from cryptocurrency-focused hack attacks decreased by 54.2% compared to May. According to crypto analysis firm PeckShield, approximately 20 hack incidents were reported in June, resulting in a net loss of around $176 million. This represents a significant decrease of 54.2% compared to May 2024, when hackers stole $385 million.
What Happened in June?
According to Peckshield, the BtcTurk attack was the largest hack in June, with hackers seizing over $100 million in crypto assets.
Initial estimates by ZachXBT indicated losses of approximately $55 million. The second largest attack was on another centralized exchange, Lykke, with losses amounting to $22 million. The third largest attack was on the DeFi lending protocol UwU Lend, resulting in losses of $19.4 million.
Among the top 5 hacks in June, the highest losses were experienced by two centralized exchanges, followed by three decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. May 2024 was the largest month for crypto losses, with a net loss of approximately $385 million from crypto attacks. The largest loss occurred on May 31, when the crypto exchange DMM suffered a private key hack, resulting in the theft of $305 million worth of Bitcoin.
Important Details About the Attacks
In February, there was a net loss of $360 million, while April saw the lowest number of hacks and losses at $60.19 million. Despite a noticeable decrease in net losses from vulnerabilities in June, losses in the second quarter of 2024 increased by 115% compared to the same period in 2023. In the second quarter of 2023, losses amounted to only $220 million, compared to over $572 million this year.
Most of the losses in the quarter were due to centralized exchange attacks. Losses from centralized protocols and exchange attacks in this quarter reached $401 million, accounting for 70% of the total.
Losses from centralized exchanges were higher this quarter. However, data shows that only a very small portion of all attacks on these exchanges were successful. Hackers exploited centralized platforms only five times this quarter, while there were a total of 62 successful attacks on decentralized protocols.