Crypto experienced a 153% YOY increase in hacking and fraud in Q3: Immunefi.
Crypto and Web3 projects experienced a 153% increase in attacks between July and September 2023, according to a report by blockchain security platform Immunefi. In Q3 2022, there were a total of 30 attacks. But in Q3 2023, this number grew to 76. About $686 million was lost in the most recent quarter.
The biggest loss came from the Mixin hack on September 25, which cost about $200 million. The Multichain hack was the second worst attack of the quarter, causing more than $126 million in losses that are still unaccounted for. In addition to these events, the Lazarus group invested more than $208 million worth of crypto in several attacks, including centralized services CoinEx, Alphapo, Stake, and Coinspaid. The Lazarus group was responsible for 30% of all crypto stolen in Q3, according to the report.
Related: Exclusive: Hackers Selling Discount Tokens Related to CoinEx, Stake Hacks
A small portion of Q3's attacks involve carpet pulling and other scams. Of the total losses, only $23 million or 3.3 percent came from such incidents, while the remaining 96.7 percent came from hacking or exploitation. Overall, financial losses from fraud in Q3 decreased by 23.9% compared to Q3 2022.
The report found that decentralized finance (DeFi) hacking accounted for 72.9% of total losses, while decentralized services accounted for only 27.1% of exploitation losses. Immunefi does not specify how they define “decentralized” and “centralized” services.
The two networks most affected by hackers and fraudsters are Ethereum and BNB Chain. Ethereum represents 42.7% of losses, while BNB Chain represents 30.5%. Buzz and Optimism were the third and fourth most popular networks for attackers to exploit.
The report provides further evidence that Q3 was the worst quarter of the year for crypto-related fraud and scams. An Oct. 2 report from Certic reached the same conclusion.
