The exploded adoption of smartphones and the internet has resulted in an exponential rise in cyber crimes. One such thing keeping the youth busy on their devices is, Cryptocurrency. Surprisingly, Crypto hackers have been the most active this year. In fact, the year 2022 sets a new record in terms of the total value of Cryptocurrencies looted by cybercriminals, according to blockchain specialist Chainalysis Inc. Approximately $718 million worth of cryptocurrency has been stolen so far in October alone, taking the count to over $3 billion this year.
Last year in 2021, the total cryptocurrency value received by illicit addresses was $14 billion, with a massive increase of 79.5% YoY.
DeFi protocols grew new opportunities in crypto crimes 2022
The majority of the targets are so-called DeFi (Decentralised Finance) protocols, which use software-based algorithms to allow cryptocurrency investors to trade, borrow, and lend on digital ledgers without the use of a central intermediary. Hackers have honed their skills at exploiting flaws in the security, coding, and structure of DeFi marketplaces.
Two major exploits have recently shaken up the crypto industry. One such theft involved a hacker who swiped away a whopping $100 million from DeFi service Mango by manipulating its token price.
Another incident took place last week, when 2 million BNB (formerly known as Binance Coin), equivalent to nearly $570 million, were stolen by crypto criminals. BNB is the world’s fifth-largest token with a market value of over $45 billion, according to data site CoinGecko.
This year so far, North Korea-affiliated groups are said to have stolen about $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency from DeFi protocols.
In 2020, just under $162 million worth of cryptocurrency was stolen from DeFi platforms, which increased to a whopping $2.2 billion in 2021, according to “THE 2022 CRYPTO CRIME REPORT” by Chainalysis.
It is very important to protect your crypto wallet in order to avoid cryptocurrency-related theft and scams.
Global Crypto market in doldrums
The global cryptocurrency market is in the doldrums due to the market meltdown and regulatory concerns among investors in various promising markets. Hundreds of billions have gone down the drain due to an over $2 trillion slump in terms of market cap since the beginning of the year.
India, which is the biggest Crypto trading market in Asia, is constantly tightening its grip on Crypto players. The 30% capital gains tax that came into effect in April – another 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on profits made from crypto in July – is hugely impacting the prospects of cryptocurrency investments in the country.
The situation in many other Crypto markets is not different either. Amid the fear of the longest recession ever, investors and traders have halted all their plans to invest in Crypto or in the stock market. For the last few months, almost every leading cryptocurrency is trading at the lowest price in the last 12 months.
