November 3, 2023
By Anjali Kochhar
Crypto crime does not appear to be trending downward, but in the Web3 community, a quiet month is definitely welcomed.
October had a low point for Web3 theft so far this year, according to CertiK. The blockchain security firm confirmed losses from hacks, exploits, and scams totaled $32.2 million for the month across 38 instances, with no single incident resulting in a loss of over $7 million.
October losses were around 25% of the running monthly average, as compared to the $1.4 billion ten-month total. At $33.7 million, January had the second-lowest losses. The October figures indicate a lack of significant incidents that month rather than a consistent drop in losses. The 38 events in October also represented a quantitative low.
According to Certik’s third-quarter report, there were 79 incidents in July, 66 in August, and 39 in September. The only scams that showed an increase in October were exit scams, which increased four times from their September low. This category hit its annual peak in May after customers of the Fintoch cryptocurrency project lost about $32 million.
Conversely, September marked the height of exploit activity, primarily as a result of the $200 million loss incurred by Mixin Network following a breach involving its cloud service provider. The second-highest damage was recorded in July, with the Multichain MPC bridge being primarily responsible for the losses.
In cryptocrime, there are a few distinct patterns. Recently, CertiK reported on the increase in social media scams. It referenced data from the US Federal Trade Commission, which showed that over half of cryptocurrency frauds over the previous 18 months were connected to social media. Social media provides a plethora of avenues for misconduct, ranging from pig butchering to pumping and dumping.
About the author
Anjali Kochhar covers cryptocurrency stories in India as well as globally. Having been in the field of media and journalism for over three years now, she has developed a sharp news sense and works hard to present information that goes beyond the obvious. She is an avid reader and loves writing on a wide range of subjects.
