A new research study from the cryptocurrency review, advice, and news firm Crypto Head reveals that crypto breaches and fraud increased 40.7% in 2020 from 2019, with 2021 set to break last year’s record in terms of the number of offenses.
The study does a deep dive into the number of significant breaches and fraud involving crypto from 2011 to 2021 to determine how much they have increased, how much has been taken, the biggest thefts, and the most commonly targeted countries and currencies.
Here is a brief snapshot of the findings:
$19.2bn has been stolen via crypto breaches and fraud in the last 10 years.
On average the number of offenses grows 41% every year.
2017 saw hackers make the most money, with a theft high of $4.7 billion in total and $223.5 million on average.
Bitcoin is the most targeted currency accounting for 33.3% of breaches and fraud.
The United States is the most commonly targeted country with 17 breaches and fraud specifically tied to this country, followed by the United Kingdom (12), South Korea (9).
It wasn’t the most targeted entity that suffered the most, as Turkey lost the highest sum through the Thodex scam, which saw $2 billion stolen, followed by Japan ($1.2 billion stolen in total) and China ($1 billion stolen in total).
Though, the vast majority of cases can’t be tied to any one country as 91 breaches and fraud are ‘undefined’.
The most common type of attack is breaches of wallets and exchanges, with 126 in the last ten years, which is far more than offenses involving DeFi attacks and fraud (both 41).
The largest breach on record is Mt. Gox where $615 million has been stolen over the years, leading to the platform ultimately becoming insolvent in 2014.
However, it’s been cases of fraud that were the most lucrative for criminals, seeing perpetrators walk away with on average $365 million - over 14 times as much as breaches.
For a look at the full research study, click HERE
