Crypto security breaches are up 850% in the last decade

Cryptocurrency crime stands in direct proportion to the size of the cryptocurrency market. It is estimated that the cryptocurrencies stolen between January 2011 and December 2021 amount to $12.1 billion. 

Exploiting vulnerabilities in the security systems of crypto exchanges is the most common tactic. $3.18 billion has been lost in security breaches, $1.76 billion through DeFi hacks, and $7.12 billion through scams.

The most common locations of such security breaches are Japan, South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, and China – the very countries where cryptocurrency is most popular.

This article presents data on the increase in the number of breaches and money lost to them year on year over the last decade, and ends with a recap of the biggest breaches in history and advice from one of our finance experts on how to keep your money safe when investing in cryptocurrencies.

Increase in number of breaches

Year	Number of Scams	Year	Increase In Number of Breaches (%)
2021	76	2020 - 2021	145%
2020	31	2019 - 2020	19%
2019	26	2018 - 2019	73%
2018	15	2017 - 2018	7%
2017	14	2016 - 2017	180%
2016	5	2015 - 2016	-50%
2015	10	2014 - 2015	-9%
2014	11	2013 - 2014	-31%
2013	16	2012 - 2013	14%
2012	14	2011 - 2012	75%
2011	8

The percentage increase in the number of scams per year is up by 850% from 2011 to 2021. As you can see from the table above, 2021 has been the worst year so far with the highest number of scams by more than double. The biggest increase occurred between 2016 to 2017 (180%), when some major attacks took place.

Increase in money lost to crypto breaches

Year	Total Money Lost ($)	Year	Increase In Money Lost (%)
2021	4,250,000,000	2020 - 2021	185%
2020	1,490,000,000	2019 - 2020	-57%
2019	3,500,156,000	2018 - 2019	259%
2018	974,000,000	2017 - 2018	51%
2017	645,901,000	2016 - 2017	341%
2016	146,509,000	2015 - 2016	-64%
2015	404,116,000	2014 - 2015	-36%
2014	634,069,700	2013 - 2014	4356%
2013	14,228,820	2012 - 2013	147%
2012	5,762,810	2011 - 2012	438%
2011	1,070,820

The percentage increase in money lost to crypto crime between 2011 to 2021 was a massive 396,792%. The worst year has been 2021 with over $4.25 billion lost. The biggest increase in lost funds was between 2013 to 2014, when the amount lost increased by 4,356%. That was the year MtGox suffered a major hack, leading the exchange to collapse.  

Biggest breaches in history

Cryptocurrency comes with many freedoms, but it’s only as reliable as the security measures and protections of third party wallet providers. Here are the biggest breaches in history.

1. Mt. Gox, $615M

The hack of Mt. Gox in 2014 remains the biggest in history. What some don’t know is that it wasn’t the first hack. Mt. Gox was hacked in 2011 and Bitcoin worth $8.75 million was lost. The Japanese exchange didn’t learn from its lesson and lost almost 850,000 bitcoins three years later, equivalent to $615 million. The hackers achieved this by flooding Mt. Gox with a huge amount of fake bitcoins. It emerged that anyone could overwrite the site’s code, posing a major risk.

2. Poly Network, $600M+

In August this year, blockchain-based platform Poly Network suffered a major breach. A hacker siphoned off more than $600 million in crypto, making it the second-biggest hack in the DeFi space. Subsequently, most of the funds were returned. Poly Network offered the white hat hacker a job.

3. Coincheck, $534M

In January 2018, hackers infiltrated the exchange and stole crypto worth $534 million. They were able to access hot wallets in a phishing attack. Then, they spread malware and extracted the funds. In early 2021, it emerged that most of the perpetrators were high-income individuals. The good news is that Coincheck is still up and running. Monex Group, a traditional Japanese financial services provider, bought it in April 2021.  

4. KuCoin, $281M

Singapore-based exchange KuCoin suffered a breach in September 2020, losing more than $281 million in crypto. Hackers got their hands on the keys to the hot wallets on the exchange. KuCoin suspended all transactions immediately and launched a thorough investigation, which helped recover more than $204 million within weeks. Allegedly, a group of hackers from North Korea committed the breach. 

5. PancakeBunny, $200M  

In May this year, PancakeBunny lost $200 million in a flash loan attack. The hacker gave a huge loan in Binance Coin, then disbalanced the price and dumped it on the exchange’s marketplace. He got a very large amount of BUNNY, the exchange’s native token, through this loan. After that, he dumped all of it on the market, causing the price to plummet. Finally, he paid the BNB back on PancakeSwap (CAKE/USD).

6. BitGrail, $195M

BitGrail, an Italian exchange, suffered a breach in 2019. According to insiders, NANO worth $195 million was stolen. The perpetrators have not been identified. It is believed several people were jointly liable: the founder of the exchange, the development team, and the hacker.

Milko Trajcevski, cryptocurrency analyst at Invezz said: