November Sees Highest Monthly Crypto Losses of 2023
In November, the crypto industry experienced the highest monthly losses of 2023 so far, with over $343 million lost due to hacks and fraud, according to a report from web3 bug bounty platform Immunefi. This represents a significant increase from October’s losses of approximately $22 million. In total, crypto hacks and rug pulls have resulted in over $1.75 billion in losses across 296 incidents this year.
CeFi Takes Center Stage
November witnessed a shift in focus for crypto attacks, with centralized finance (CeFi) platforms becoming the primary victims, surpassing decentralized finance (DeFi) in terms of total funds lost. DeFi accounted for 46.2% ($158.6 million) of the losses over 37 incidents, while CeFi accounted for 53.8% ($184.4 million) over four incidents. This shift was largely driven by high-profile attacks on platforms such as Poloniex, HTX (formerly Huobi), and Kronos Research.
Hacks Dominate Over Fraud
Hacking incidents continued to dominate the crypto attacks landscape in November, resulting in over $335 million in losses across 18 incidents. On the other hand, fraud incidents accounted for nearly $7.5 million in losses across 23 incidents.
BNB Chain and Ethereum Remain Top Targets
BNB Chain and Ethereum remained the most targeted blockchain networks in November, accounting for a combined 83% of the total losses. BNB Chain experienced the highest number of individual attacks with 22 incidents (53.7% of the losses), while Ethereum witnessed 12 attacks (29.3% of exploited funds). Other affected chains include Arbitrum, Optimism, Avalanche, Fantom, and Heco Chain.
Immunefi’s Role in Protecting User Funds
As a vulnerability reporting platform, Immunefi has paid out more than $85 million in bounties to date and has saved over $25 billion in user funds across various protocols. It has been actively involved in safeguarding projects like Chainlink, The Graph, Synthetix, and MakerDAO. In September, Immunefi took steps towards decentralization by launching on-chain vaults as part of its bug bounty platform.
Hot Take: Crypto Losses Reach Alarming Levels
In November 2023, the crypto industry experienced the highest monthly losses of the year, signaling the growing threat of hacks and fraud. Centralized finance platforms became the primary targets, surpassing decentralized finance platforms in terms of total funds lost. Hacking incidents dominated the landscape, highlighting the need for enhanced security measures. BNB Chain and Ethereum remained at the forefront of attacks, underscoring the importance of protecting these popular blockchain networks. As the industry faces escalating risks, bug bounty platforms like Immunefi play a crucial role in safeguarding user funds and mitigating vulnerabilities.
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