According to a report from Web3 security firm Beosin on June 30. the total value of cryptocurrencies lost to scams, hacks, and fraud in the first half of 2023 is estimated to be $656 million. This figure includes $471.43 million lost in 108 protocol attack s, $108 million lost in various phishing scams, and $75.87 million lost in 110 scams. However, compared to the first and second half of 2022. The losses are significantly lower, as those periods saw losses of $1.91 billion and $1.69 billion, respectively. Beosin analysts also noted that around $215 million of stolen assets were recovered, accounting for 45.5% of all stolen assets, which is a higher recovery rate than in 2022.
Among the cases tracked by Beosin and Footprint Analytics, only one project experienced a hack surpassing $100 million. This occurred on March 13 when Euler Finance suffered a flash loan hack resulting in a loss of $195 million. However, most of the stolen asset s were returned by the hackers, and the company initiated redemptions on April 12.
In Terms of the Types of Cryptocurrencies Targeted, The Majority of Losses in the First Half of 2023 WERE Coins and Tokens Built On The Ethereum Blockchain, accounting for 75.6% of the total. their share was relatively low at 2.6%. Among the reasons behind the losses, smart contract vulnerabilities accounted for 56% of the cases, while 21.4% did not have a clear identifiable reason. These numbers reflect a significant decline compared to the second d half of 2021 when cryptocurrency losses reached a record high of $2.1 billion due to hacks, phishing scams, and fraud.
Despite the substantial losses incurred in the first half of 2023. the recovery rate of stolen assets has improved, providing some relief to affected individuals and organizations. The prevalence of Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies being targeted suggests that security me assures within the Ethereum ecosystem may require further attention to protect against vulnerabilities and potential attacks.
