Cryptocurrency traders in Western Europe have experienced a sharp increase in offline robberies in recent months, crypto researcher ZachXBT has warned.
These attacks, which have also spread to Hong Kong and Singapore, have targeted prominent figures in the crypto community, with victims being threatened at gunpoint. The rise in violent crime comes as the crypto space continues to face both offline and online security threats.
Physical Robberies Increase in Cryptocurrency Industry, But Hacking Incidents Are Decreasing
However, while physical robberies have increased, the overall financial impact from cryptocurrency-related hacks and scams has decreased. Data from Immunefi, a Web3 bug bounty platform, shows that losses from hacks decreased by 38% in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. Fraud-related losses fell even more sharply by 86%.
According to Immunefi’s latest report, a total of $410 million was lost to hacks in 31 incidents in Q3 2024, while another $3 million was lost to fraud in three incidents. Despite the decline in overall losses, the scale of individual incidents remains alarming. India’s leading cryptocurrency exchange WazirX suffered the largest hack, losing over $230 million, while Singapore-based exchange BingX lost $52 million in another major attack.
Mitchell Amador, Founder and CEO of Immunefi, emphasized that hackers are increasingly targeting decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, while centralized finance (CeFi) exchanges are experiencing fewer incidents but are facing more serious consequences. Amador said, “The biggest infrastructure problem in CeFi is private key management,” and that meticulous security practices are needed.
The report noted that approximately $15 million in stolen funds were recovered in Q3 2024, representing approximately 4% of total losses. This recovery rate is lower than previous periods, when up to 9% of stolen funds were recovered. Additionally, the number of successful attacks decreased by 54% in the quarter, with 34 incidents reported.
Ethereum (ETH) projects were the most frequently targeted cryptocurrency projects with 15 attacks, followed by Binance's BNB Chain with eight attacks and Coinbase's Base protocol with two incidents.
While the Web3 space continues to attract nearly $90 billion in capital, it remains a prime target for hackers.
*This is not investment advice.
