Over $3 billion stolen from crypto-currency projects in 2022

The year 2022 can be labeled as one of the most notorious for the digital currency ecosystem, with Forbes confirming that over $3 billion was lost to break-ins and exploits. According to the report, the industry has suffered a total of 125 hacks this year alone, and the top five protocols have seen a total of $1.48 billion moved by hackers.

The decentralized finance ecosystem (DeFi) was the most attacked branch of the industry. DeFi hacks accounted for up to 49% of the overall total. The impact of these hacks is incalculable and has contributed to the decline in investment in the DeFi world, according to the channel’s data.

Per DeFiLlama, the total value locked up (TVL) in DeFi protocols has dropped from more than $166 billion at the beginning of the year to $38.91 billion at the time of this writing. Expert developers in the industry have continued to express dissatisfaction with the extent to which protocols – particularly bridges – are attracting hackers.

In its report, Forbes recounts that the top five hacks of the year include the $625 million Ronin Network hack, the $325 million WormHole Network hack, the $190 million Nomad bridge, the $182 million Beanstalk Farms hack, and the $160 million Wintermute hack.

Hacks beyond DeFi

While DeFi has seen the most hacks, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and crypto-currency exchanges have also seen a number of exploits throughout the year. One of the first victims of an exchange hack was Crypto.com, which lost no less than $35 million in mid-January. The hack did not disrupt the exchange’s operations but signaled that no exchange platform is invincible to hackers.

High-profile NFT projects, including Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), have been subject to a number of attacks on their Discord platforms, with hackers exploring different strategies to scam investors.