In July 2023, the cryptocurrency market experienced its worst month, with reported losses totaling $486 million, more than six times the losses seen in the entire year of 2022. The significant losses come in the wake of several high-profile hacks and exploits during the month, coupled with increased legal activity focusing on cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
Recovery efforts for the stolen funds have been insufficient, with only $6.15 million, less than 1% of the total losses, being successfully recovered. De.Fi researchers expressed concern over the industry's ability to recover lost funds, describing it as a critical factor in mitigating the impact of such unfortunate events.
The majority of losses occurred on the Ethereum network, with approximately $447 million lost across 36 cases. This included a multi-chain hack resulting in $231 million in losses and the Alphapo breach costing around $100 million. The Base network came in second, re porting $23 million lost in one case, while the cryptocurrency arrangement incurred nearly $11 million in losses across 18 cases. "Access control issues" were responsible for the bulk of the lost funds in July, accounting for $364 million. Additionally, rugpulls caused dam ages of approximately $36 million in more than 38 cases, and reentrancy attacks accounted for around $78 million in damages.
Despite the significant losses, the De.Fi team did note one positive aspect: there were no reports of exit scams during July, providing a glimmer of hope amidst the challenging market conditions.
