Blockchain analytics company Chainalysis says 2022 was “the biggest year ever for crypto hacking,” with $3.8 billion taken from cryptocurrency services. The company included that decentralized finance (defi) procedure hacks represented 82.1% of all cryptocurrency taken by hackers throughout the year.
Crypto Hacking Hit Record High in 2022
Blockchain analytics company Chainalysis released an area of its upcoming 2023 Crypto Crime Report on Wednesday, specifying:
2022 was the most significant year ever for crypto hacking, with $3.8 billion taken from cryptocurrency services.
The company described that crypto hacking activity considerably increased in March and peaked in October — the month which “became the biggest single month ever for cryptocurrency hacking, as $775.7 million was stolen in 32 separate attacks,” Chainalysis explained.
The company included that “82.1% of all cryptocurrency stolen by hackers — a total of $3.1 billion” originated from decentralized finance (defi) hacks. Noting that this portion was up from 73.3% in 2021, the company mentioned that $3.1 billion of 64% originated from cross-chain bridge procedures particularly.
Chainalysis likewise detailed that “North Korea-linked hackers … have been by far the most prolific cryptocurrency hackers over the last few years,” elaborating:
In 2022, they shattered their own records for theft, taking an approximated $1.7 billion worth of cryptocurrency throughout numerous hacks we’ve credited to them.
Moreover, the blockchain analytics firm specified that North Korea-connected hackers stole $1.1 billion of that quantity from defi procedures, making North Korea “one of the driving forces behind the defi hacking trend that intensified in 2022.” Besides defi procedures, Chainalysis kept in mind that “North Korea-linked hackers also tend to send large sums to mixers, which have typically been the cornerstone of their money laundering process.”
The company even more detailed that “For much of 2021 and 2022, North Korea-linked hackers almost exclusively used Tornado Cash to launder cryptocurrency stolen in hacks.” Ethereum mixer Tornado Cash was approved by the U.S. federal government in August in 2015.
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