The number of DeFi sector attacks has skyrocketed since 2020. Hackers have stolen more than $6.77 billion over the past two years by compromising about 214 DeFi protocols.
According to a recent report by analyst firm Crystal Blockchain, crime in the decentralized finance (DeFi) market is on the rise. Thus, between 2011 and 2022, hackers managed to steal $14.6 billion by hacking 364 different DeFi protocols. Attackers succeeded in stealing $6.77 billion just in the last two years.
Crystal Blockchain analysts emphasize that over the past few years, the DeFi sector has become the main target for fraudsters. So, the number of attacks on DeFi protocols in 2022 increased by 27% compared to 2021, and in 2021, the number of attacks on the sector grew by 203% compared to 2020. It is worth noting that from 2011 to 2020, there were only 150 such attacks, and hackers have already hacked 214 DeFi protocols in the last two years.
Crystal Blockchain Senior Analyst Nick Smart argues that the industry’s rapid growth can explain such a sharp jump in popularity of the DeFi sector among hackers. Smart points out that some DeFi protocols neglect security in order to occupy a niche in the fast-growing market of decentralized finance.
The analyst also emphasizes that the number of DeFi protocols, which are initially fraudulent, has grown in the market. For example, in 2022, Rug Pull was the most common fraud scheme in the decentralized finance sector.
The sector’s biggest hack remains the attack on the Ronin sidechain in late March when a hacker managed to withdraw about $625 million worth of cryptocurrency. The largest amounts were stolen from DeFi protocols on Ethereum, which is not surprising, since it is the most popular platform for decentralized apps and generally dominates the Web 3.0 sphere.
