Q3 sees $440M lost in crypto hacks despite fewer incidents

In the third quarter of 2024, the number of crypto hacks dropped to its lowest in three years, with 28 incidents recorded.

However, the amount of unrecovered stolen funds remains concerning, as over $440 million is considered permanently lost.

According to a report by cybersecurity firm Hacken, a total of $463.6 million was stolen across these incidents, but only a small fraction has been recovered, marking the worst quarter in recent times for asset recovery.

The report noted that 95% of the stolen funds were unrecoverable, in stark contrast to previous quarters when 50-60% of assets were typically frozen or returned.

“This is the worst quarter in recent times in terms of recovered or frozen funds,” Hacken stated.

Only three projects managed to recover their stolen assets, leaving most victims with no recourse.

Geographically, Asia experienced the most significant losses, with $264 million stolen in Q3.

Australia reported $43.3 million in losses, followed by Europe with $22.16 million and North America with $15 million.

The most devastating attacks involved access control breaches, where malicious actors gained control over seed phrases or wallet functions, resulting in $316 million in stolen funds.

Reentrancy attacks, which exploit vulnerabilities in smart contracts, were another prominent method, causing over $33 million in losses despite only three incidents.

Although traditional rug pulls have declined, the report highlighted a rise in meme coin scams on platforms like Base, Tron (CRYPTO:TRX), and Solana (CRYPTO:SOL).

For instance, Solana's platform pump.fun saw the launch of over 2 million meme coins, but only 89 achieved a market cap exceeding $1 million.

Hacken suggested that scammers have shifted to these platforms, creating low-value tokens to imitate rug pull tactics.