Cybercriminals Inflicted Over $3 Billion Worth of Havoc in the Cryptocurrency Sector in 2024
The crypto industry has seen a significant resurgence in hacking and scam activities, with losses exceeding $3.01 billion in 2024, according to recent reports. This represents a 15% increase over the $2.61 billion stolen in 2023.
In 2024, more than 300 hacker attacks were recorded, resulting in losses of $2.15 billion. Decentralized finance protocols were the prime target for hackers, with 53.5% of all losses being linked to hacks against them. Ethereum accounted for 47.3% of the total funds stolen, and was involved in 34.8% of the hacks.
Three major hacks occurred in 2024: the DMM Bitcoin hack resulted in losses of approximately $305 million, the PlayDapp hack caused losses of around $290 million, and the WazirX exploit led to losses of approximately $230 million.
In 2024, approximately $488.5 million in stolen assets were recovered. However, the remaining $834.5 million in losses were attributed to scam operations.
User-side mistakes involving cybersecurity lapses and poor private key management grew to 44% of all attacks in 2024, up from 33% in 2023.
The trend continued into 2025, with the crypto industry experiencing a notable surge in losses caused primarily by hacking incidents and scam operations. By midyear, over $2.7 billion had been stolen, a rate faster than that recorded in 2022, suggesting potential annual theft increases of up to 60% year-over-year.
Major causes of the increased losses include hacking of centralized crypto exchanges and platforms, scam operations such as Ponzi-style cloud mining schemes, and ransomware-related activities and increasing dark money flows linked with crypto. Dark web forums trading stolen data have also seen increased activity, reflecting a thriving underground ecosystem supporting crypto theft and fraud.
In sum, the data from 2024–2025 underline hacking and scam operations as the major sources of crypto industry losses, with a worrying upward trajectory in both scale and velocity of attacks and fraudulent schemes.
References
- PeckShield (2025). Crypto Theft Surges in 2025, Reaching $2.7 Billion
- PeckShield (2024). XRP Mining Scams: A Growing Threat to Investors
- CoinDCX (2025). CoinDCX Suffers High-Profile Breach, Loses $44.2 Million
- Chainalysis (2024). Ransomware and Cryptocurrency: A Growing Nexus
- CertiK (2024). Phishing Activity on the Rise in 2024
Investing in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum comes with increased risks, as cybersecurity threats and scam activities continue to escalate. In 2024, Decentralized Finance (Defi) protocols were prime targets for hackers, with Ethereum accounting for 47.3% of the total funds stolen. Notable hacks included the DMM Bitcoin hack, the PlayDapp hack, and the WazirX exploit, resulting in combined losses of over $825 million. Scam operations, such as Ponzi-style cloud mining schemes, also contributed significantly to the losses, with $834.5 million attributed to such activities in 2024. The trend of increased losses continued into 2025, largely due to hacking incidents and scam operations, suggesting potential annual theft increases of up to 60% year-over-year. As technology advances, it's essential for the crypto industry to prioritize cybersecurity to protect both investors and the industry itself.
