Crypto Theft Responsible for Over $2 Billion in Losses by 2022, Crystal Blockchain Finds

Bad actors continue to find new places to trade with peer-to-peer exchanges. Provider of blockchain analysis tools Crystal Blockchain details the latest blockchain data in its recent report.

According to Crystal Blockchains’Crypto Asset & Blockchain Industry Report 2022‘, there was a 15 percent increase in funds sent to the darknet from illicit sources in 2022. The report aims to support financial institutions, regulators and customers in making educated decisions about managing cryptocurrency risk in the future.

Marina Khaustova, CEO of Crystal Blockchain, explained what the report sought to cover. She said: “2022 has seen some of the most seismic events not only in the cryptoasset and blockchain space, but also economically and socially.

“In our report, the team at Crystal Blockchain aims to give you an overview of the state of the digital asset industry in 2022, how it fits into the wider global landscape, and where we see the industry going in 2023 and beyond.”

The report found that 2022 saw a significant increase in the number of large-scale hacks, fraud and other crimes using crypto. Due to this trend, a number of governments and regulators took major steps towards regulating crypto.

Crypto hackers have stolen over $2 billion in 2022, with a rising trend in DeFi projects. The blockchain tools provider found that NFTs have also become increasingly popular among carpet scammers. Overall, in the first half of 2022, over $70 million has been stolen in carpet sweeps based on NFT projects.

Decentralized Finance Hacks

Crystal Blockchain’s crypto report from July found that DeFi hacks were most dominant in the first half of 2022. The company’s analysis shows that 154 cases of illegal activity took place during that time. Of these, 51 percent were connected to DeFi hacks, with over $1.934 million worth of crypto stolen. Fraudulent activity led to $132 million lost, while $77 million was lost due to security breaches.

About $14.5 billion in cryptocurrencies have been stolen between January 2011 and July 10, 2022, the report found. Crystal Blockchain also found that until 2021, the most popular method used to steal crypto was infiltration of crypto exchange security systems. Since then, DeFi hacking has become the fastest growing method used for crypto theft.

In the first half of 2022 alone, stolen funds from just the top 10 DeFi attacks exceeded $2.5 billion. The report predicts that despite efforts by DeFi companies to tackle hacks with increased security measures, crypto theft using the method will continue to grow. It explains that methods and technologies used by illegal hackers continue to become more sophisticated and advanced. This ensures that crypto theft will continue for the time being.